Ningyou Hime
by Mermaid Sorceress Kaoru
Summary: My first LoZ fanfic. Based on the classic fairy tale, The Little Mermaid with its Japanese title. Link, Zelda, and his clones are taking place in the underwater world as a family. They're also related to my OC. But, their sister dreams about Hyrule.
1. Introduction: Deep in the Ocean

M.S.K: Minna-san! Konnichiwa! ^_^ This is my first fanfic for Legend of Zelda. Precisely for the Four Swords category. I'm a really big Four Swords fangirl ever since I first read the manga adaption. In this fanfic, Link and the company won't be taking place on dry land. He and the rest will be a family who lives deep underwater.

Link, Zelda, Navi, and his clones: Huh? Really?

M.S.K: Of course! And yes. This story will be based on fairy tale story. But, I had an OC to go along with them. I do hope you're going to be enjoying this. So, uh. . . Who's going to do the disclaimer for me?

Link (Green): Well. . . I think I'll. . .

Red: Oh! Oh! Me! Me! I wanna do it!

Blue: (Pushes Red aside) Oh! Excuuuuuse you! If anyone's doing it, it shall be me!

Red: (Gets up) But, I want to do it!

Blue: No! I'm a hero too, you know! So, I shall do it!

Link: Come on, Blue! Don't be so mean to Red like this all the time!

Blue: Back off!

Vio: (Clears his throat) Actually, the one who's in charge of disclaiming for the authoress goes to me.

Blue: Not you too!

All Four Links: (Start squabbling about who shall do the disclaimer.)

Zelda, Navi, and M.S.K: -_-. . . .

M.S.K: I think those guys are busy right now. So, Navi? Will you do it?

Navi: Sure! Sure! Kaoru doesn't own Legend of Zelda: Four Sowrds. It rightfully belongs to Nintendo! She only owns her OC.

M.S.K: Thank you. Now, on with the story!

All Four Links: What? We didn't get to do the job!

M.S.K: (Ignores them and starts playing Zelda's Lullaby on an ocarina.)

* * *

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords in Ningyou Hime

Introduction: Deep in the Ocean. . .

Long, long ago, neighboring the magical kingdom of Hyrule, was the great blue ocean. Over various times, when sailors sail out on the ocean, they know that nothing around Hyrule was as it seemed. Yes, Hyrule has various races living in the surrounding areas. But, some didn't know that there's a race in the ocean that's somewhat similar to the Hylian race but also a friend of the Zoras. That race living in the ocean are sacredly known to be the Mer-Hylians.

Deep in the waters of the Great Ocean, far deeper than any anchor can reach, there stood a magnificent glowing palace, surrounded by a prosperous village. It's a Mer-Hylian kingdom, which is scarcely known as Hylia. It's remotely similar to Hyrule from above but the only difference is that it's deep in the depths of the ocean.

The palace's walls were built from coral reefs, the windows were mounted with amber, and the roof was ladened with seashells and pearls which shone brightly inside the palace.

This kingdom, Hylia is ruled by a powerful King, whose name to be known by all of the Mer-Hylians, Thor. He had six children. Four young princes and two princesses. All of them are born with strong will, pure hearts, courage, and wisdom, according to their blessings from the Three Goddesses of the Triforce. Since the King, himself is usually busy with his duties, he had six ocean maidens to take good care of the children as their nursemaids.

The Four Princes were first to be born before the two princesses. They were known to be the Royal Quadruplets since they share the same face, the same hair color, and the same eye color. But what's different about each of the four is their tail color.

The reason why they're identical quadruplets is when the baby was first born, it used to be one little boy. However, when Thor prayed to the Goddesses to thank them for their blessings, the most unexpected, yet remarkable thing happened! Once his thanks has been accepted, the Goddesses bestowed their blessings unto the baby in a very special way. By their power of blessing, the baby boy split into four. The four who are once one kept the same features, even though the only difference is the color of their fish tails. Filled with joy for having a fulfilled wish of having four healthy boys, King Thor thanked the Goddesses again for their miracle.

The First Prince's name is Link. He had a tail that's in a bright green color that can match the color of young seaweed. Although he is brave, loyal, gentle, and courageous, he's practically a focused and motivated boy. As a prince, he's pretty proper. Even if he forgets some of the things on being a proper prince. To avoid confusion, his other brothers call him Green while his sisters call him by his real name.

He had a special talent on sword fighting and he'll easily send evil mer-hylians back to their lords. He's also equipped with a boomerang that can hit and retrieve anything. He was the first mer-hylian prince to be born under the Triforce of Courage.

The Second Prince is to be known as Red. His name resembled the color of his bright tail. Many young girls in the kingdom fall deeply for him because, although he has a few struggles on being a proper prince, he is the innocent optimist among his siblings, for he has quite a happy-go-lucky personality.

He had a very big heart for his friends and family, which is the strongest trait for him. But sometimes, he can be a bit of a crybaby among his brothers and sisters. It's the only trait that most mer-hylians find to be the weakest about him. But, still he's a wonderful and impressive prince. He is the second one to be born under the same Triforce of Courage. Although he's skillful with the sword, he has two special weapons. A Fire Wand for battling above the surface when he has to, and an Ice Wand when he has to freeze an enemy or two in the water.

The Third Prince is called Blue. Just like the sky and the ocean waters, his tail matches their same color. Like the rest of his brothers, he shared a great skill on sword fighting as well as using a magic mallet. He's about as strong as Link but, he can sometimes be over confident, pushy, and aggressive. Especially around Red.

Many opposing mer-hylians feared him for he not only has an aggressive attitude, but also a fiery temper. He can get angry very easily and has a hard time being patient with things. He happens to have trouble being a proper and respectful prince, that he forgets his manners very often. But still, he's praised to be a gallant and brave prince. Sometimes, he will often try and pick a fight with one of his three brothers. Under the same Triforce, he's the third to be born with the same courage as his brothers.

The Fourth Prince is greatly known as Vio. He had a violet colored tail and because of that, his father gave him the name 'Vio' for the name Violet happens to be a name for girls. Just like the rest of his brothers, he's also very skillful with the sword. But, not only that. He's a professionally skilled archer. His arrows are as fast as the winds of a maelstrom and he never misses a target. Unlike Blue, he's the most patient of all four princes. In fact, he's a very calm and collective prince. He's not only knowledgeable on the arts of combat, but also a few other things too. He's usually seen carrying a book that contained information on almost everything around the palace. Since the palace itself, has a library, he goes there very often to study. He was a very intelligent prince and that's simply the reason why a lot of mer-hylian girls around the kingdom of Hylia were going head over heels for him. He's the last mer-hylian prince to be born under the Triforce of Courage.

Now, the first mer-hylian princess was about a year younger than her four brothers. Everyone in her family call her Zelda. She is not only a princess gifted with beauty but also pure wisdom. Her wisdom from her heart and soul was so pure, it happened to resemble the wisdom and love from Naryu. That's according to the fact that she's born under the Triforce of Wisdom. For this, many subjects adore her and many mer-hylian men wanted her hand in marriage. Unlike her brothers, she prefers to learn the arts of magic from the Three Goddesses and her magic is very strong.

She had a wonderfully beautiful figure, consisting of long sunshine gold hair that can dance under any light, shining through the water, whenever she's swimming delicately. She also had pale blue eyes that are like sapphires or blue force gems. Her skin was soft and delicate and she always wears a pink tank top to match the gems of her tiara and tail. The thing her father adores the most about her is her bright, gleeful smile.

Finally, the last princess was practically the youngest of all the siblings. Her name is Hoshimi. A mer-hylian mermaid who is about a year younger than Zelda but, two years younger than Link, Red, Blue, and Vio. She also had a beautifully gorgeous figure like her sister. She had eyes that are in a lovely hue of a deep aquamarine color. Her hair is in the color of medium ivory and on each side, she had two thin bundles of strands tied into side plaits. On each side of her bangs, those sides were silver colored highlights. The color of her fish tail was in the hue of starlight white and most of her scales were in a glittering silver color. They will always glisten and reflect under the sunlight whenever she swims around and about in the sea.

All of this about her appearance made her resemble her name's meaning. The beauty of the stars. Because of this spectacular beauty, many mer-hylian men want her to become their bride too. What the Six Maidens love about this princess is that she's the free and adventurous daughter of the King, and she's very loyal, gentle, brave, playful, patient, and thoughtful. She would often swim out to the frolic among the outskirts of the kingdom.

She enjoyed living at her home in the ocean paradise, but the thing she enjoyed the most was music. She loved to sing for that she is born with a gifted singing voice. Whenever she sings, her vocalizing music will always ring out happiness throughout the whole kingdom. She also wanted to master the magic arts of the Three Goddesses too. But since, she's the youngest child of the family, she wasn't fully professional yet. She still has a lot to learn before she can be as good as Zelda. She even happens to be a favorited child to the King, himself.

However, there's something mysterious about her that everybody in the palace knows. When she was born, the Six Maidens informed the King, her father, that she is very different from her brothers and sister. Unlike them, she's not born under either the Triforce of Wisdom or Courage. She happens to share a certain part of the Triforce of Power. The fact about this concerned the Six Maidens. They know the fact that anyone who's born under the Triforce of Power should have its complete power and control of it, once they're born. But the problem is, Hoshimi doesn't have complete power and it can make her chances of using her magic unstable. However, what they told him is that somewhere in Hyrule, another part of the Triforce of Power is missing and it should be brought back to its rightful user so, that it can be complete.

When Hoshimi is growing up, she hasn't realized anything about the flaws of her Triforce trademark. She only knows about the courage and wisdom that's given to her siblings. At that, the issue of the Triforce of Power remained a secret among the entire Royal Mer-Hylian Family.

But sooner or later, when the Goddesses know when the time is right, the discovery will change the life of Hoshimi and her family. Perhaps, it will also change the perspectives of all those who live in Hyrule and the Great Ocean as well.

* * *

Vio: Hold on a moment. This is an introduction for the distribution of us and your character.

M.S.K: Of course. The real first chapter will be coming.

Red: Wow! I never knew living in an ocean as a merman can be so wonderful! :D

M.S.K: Isn't it?

Zelda: Who are the antagonists?

M.S.K: I think you all know them. So, they'll appear soon. I hope you like this distribution. I'll be putting up the first chapter as soon as I can. At that, do wish me luck by sending me a comment or a review. Jya na!

Blue: Now, can we do the disclaimer?

M.S.K: It's already passed. We're now off the air.

Blue: Mou! By the Goddesses! Why did you decide to give it to a small fairy?

M.S.K: You're all going to take turns. Besides, I gave it to her first because, you're all busy fighting like always.

Blue:. . . .

Link: What a brilliant idea.


	2. That Princess, Hoshimi

M.S.K: Apparently, I've been wanting to get this updated, yesterday. But, I had things to be done and decided to wait until today. Want to know something? The reason I decided to write this story is because I've been thinking that since there are so many times that Link and his friends were often on land with feet, I think it will be fun to have them in water with fins. Unlike in OoT, where one doesn't need to be a merman or a mermaid to associate with the Zoras. Now, enough talking for me. So, without further ado, Link. Will you do the disclaimer?

Link: Sure! Sure! Kaoru doesn't own anything about Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. She only owns her own character. The tale I come from only belongs to Nintendo.

M.S.K: Thank you very much, Hero Boy! (Hugs, Link. A little too tightly)

Link: Ack! Too tight! Too tight, Kaoru!

Zelda: (Giggles)

Blue: Grr. . .

Vio: . . .

Red: Aww! I want a hug too!

M.S.K: Oh! (Releases him) Sorry. And now, uh. . on with the story!

* * *

Chapter 1: That Princess, Hoshimi

On this fine afternoon, around the outskirts of Hylia and among the many reefs, Link and his brothers were happening to be spending their time with their usual doings.

"Ready, Blue?" Asked Link as he raised his sword, preparing himself as if he were ready for battle.

"Oh, you bet I am, Green!" Blue is prepared too. In fact, he's always prepared for fighting than anything else.

"Let's do this!"

With that, they both charged in at each other and began their sword duel. They were basically sparring for the day. It was often something they do almost everyday or so.

While the two were sparring, Red is busy chasing some small goldfish that are swimming in a small school. He really enjoyed spending some time with the sea creatures. Especially with the reef fish. "Ha ha ha! You guys may think you're all fast swimmers but, I can get ya!"

However, amongst the ruckus of the sparring and the giggles of the goldfish chasing, Vio is busy concentrating on the book he has on his lap. All the while, he's been very quiet.

After all the sword swinging, dodging, and tackling though the water, Link and Blue are already tired and worn out.

"Whew! I think. . . That's enough. . . For the day. . ." Link huffed in the middle of his panting.

But, although he's a little bit tired, Blue is still having more energy in his body than ever. "Hey! I still want to practice! I can at least pull a good maneuver with my sword as well as getting my fins up to speed."

"Yeah? Well, that's easy for you to say. Because, believe it or not, I definitely need a break." Link said as he fell backwards on to the sand of the seabed.

Blue then snorted. "You can have a break if you can. But I still want to spar! There's no way I want to rest myself just yet!"

"You can at least relax a little." Said Red. "We all know that our Father wants us to be skillful swordsmen, but any mer-hylian boy can give himself a break. I think you can do so, too. Perhaps a little."

"I can't believe you're on Green's terms, Red! In your situation, you've hardly spend any amount of time with your sword. I don't see why you would bother swimming around with fish all day."

Red lowered his head innocently and said. "But, they're always cute. How can I resist such cute little critters in an ocean like this one?"

Blue then scoffed. "Oh! By the Three Goddesses! You're always unbelievable for a brother and a prince!"

"Calm down, Blue. You're only taking your sword practice time way, way, way too seriously." Said Vio as he flipped the page in his book. "And Green is right. You should at least give it a rest for a bit, regardless on how much energy you're having in you."

"Well, you're the one to talk, Mr. Calm and Collected." Scoffed Blue again as he swam over to his brother. "I can't take anything seriously about taking a break. You never get a break from all that book reading."

Vio only laughed a bit and said. "You're only mistaken. I do give myself a break when I have to attend to Father's summons or meal times."

At that, the blue-tailed mer-hylian prince didn't have anything else to say at the moment. But, he is still grumbling silently to himself.

It wasn't too long when Red asked. "Say, are we missing someone?"

All of the other brothers looked at each other.

Then, Vio said. "Yeah, I think we have. Now, I'm beginning to wonder where. . ."

"Whee!" A high pitched voice cut him off. Then in a swirl of bubbles and sand, a cute looking mermaid dressed in a white tank top, and wearing a diamond encrusted, head band-like tiara came along. "I'm back, guys!" She greeted with a smile.

Vio dusted the pages of his book from all the particles of sand and said. "Ah, Hoshimi. Can you come up with a better way to swim by here without brushing the ocean floor with your fins? You always do that."

Hoshimi smiled and shrugged. "Well, I've been trying. But you see, this guy challenged me to another race and I've won when I got here."

Blue swam up to her and asked. "Who's 'this guy'?"

She pointed to what's behind her back. Then what loomed in front of him is a big gray and white manta ray, looking down at him.

In fact, the ray was so close, Blue almost lost the balance on his fins! "Woah!"

After that, the ray leaned in more closer to him and nuzzled its head upon his chest.

"Well, I win." She said to Vio.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Get. . . Get off me!" The blue finned prince complained. He felt embarrassed to have a sea creature leaning against him.

Hoshimi giggled. "Come on, now. That's just a ray's way of saying that he likes you."

"Now you're having fun with a sea critter like I do!" Squeaked Red with glee.

Now, this made Blue blush a bit. He can see that not only Hoshimi and Red were being giddy about this. But he can also see Link and Vio chuckling.

Afterwards, the ray gave the princess a hug before swimming off.

"See you!" She waved.

"Heh! I'm glad that's over." Blue mumbled.

Then, Hoshimi turned to Link. "Um, Link? Where's Zelda?"

"Oh well, she's in her garden right now. I do think that we should meet her there." He answered her.

"Yeah. We better get going. It's time that we should be heading back to the Palace." Said Vio, closing his book and getting up from his spot.

So, all four princes and their sister swam over to the Palace. That's where Zelda is happening to be waiting for them. Their free time in the outskirts is done for the day.

Once they got there, Zelda swam up to them. "Oh! You're all back."

"Good afternoon, sis." Greeted Hoshimi, first of all. "Were you doing more tending with your coral?"

"Oh, yes. They're all doing just fine in my garden. The reef fish were enjoying it too." She said to her. "Were you doing more playing with the manta ray?"

"Yes. Yes I have." She answered her elder sister.

"In fact, it swooped down on top of me and nuzzled on me as if I were a sheet of glass." Grumbled Blue again.

Zelda giggled. "Oh, Blue. You're always looking at the unpleasant side of things."

Everyone else laughed. Except for Blue, of course.

"Hey, what about your part of the garden, Hoshimi?" Asked Link.

"Hmm?" The youngest princess was questioned at what he asked her.

Red exclaimed. "Yeah! We haven't seen anything of what you do about it! I'm sure it'll be as good as Zelda's!"

"Yes, yes. Do you think you can show us yours?" She asked her.

With that, Hoshimi pondered a bit.

"Please! Please!" Pleaded Red, putting his hands together.

"Pretty please!" Added Link.

After a small moment, she made her answer. "Well, I think I got something to show you guys."

"Yippee!" Red cheered.

Zelda smiled.

However, the white haired mer-hylian girl spoke uneasily. "But, I'm not so sure about calling it as the best of my work, though."

"I know it will be good, Hoshimi!" Said Red, reassuring her with a smile. "We all want to see it!"

"Hmm. . . All right, all right."

So, everyone followed Hoshimi. When they got to the middle of the garden and to where her part of it is located, they all gasped. Unlike Zelda's part that shaped like a rose in full bloom, her part was shaped like the Triforce, itself! The top triangle had bright red coral, red anemones, red sea fans and red seaweed to represent Din of Power. The second triangle on the right side had blue coral, blue sea fans, and a group of blue starfish to symbolize Naryu of Wisdom. Lastly, the triangle on the left side had green anemones, green seaweed, and some yellow green sea fans to symbolize Farore of Courage.

"Well, bless the Three Goddesses! This is wonderful, Hoshimi!" Vio gasped in amazement.

Red swam in circles for astonishment. "I was right! I knew our younger sister is great at gardening!"

"You really think so, Red?" She asked him.

"Goodness! Did you do all of this yourself?" Zelda asked her sister.

Hoshimi nodded. "Yup! It took me a long time to get everything together. I always remember each of the Three Goddesses too."

"You sure did." Said Link.

"You even have a tremendous amount of coral, Hoshimi." Said Blue.

She smiled. "Of course. The reef fish and clown fish will be so happy here, they'll have a good spot to hide from predators that want to eat them. The seaweed will also protect them too. They can also feed on enough algae to keep themselves healthy."

After that, they decided to head back inside. But, before they can, a strong current of water blew them away from the entrance! "Woah!"

The currents began to grow wilder and stronger! They've grown so strong, the seaweed and kelp were keeping a slight stance in their places upon the ocean floor, with no slight chances of getting swept away by the currents.

Above the surface of the water, the bright blue sky turned gray with dark clouds gathering. Thunder rumbled in the air and the waves are about to become choppy.

Back into the the deep, all the fish, large and small, were gathering themselves in various schools as they scramble about to find different hiding places from the currents. Some hid in seaweed, and some hid among coral.

Others like clams and scallops closed their shells and burrow holes in the seabed to hide.

When all of this happened, all of the mer-hylian people of the kingdom's village hustled about and swam inside their homes for cover. They grabbed their most valuable possessions, animals, and children and swam as fast as they could to secure themselves in shelter.

In the midst of all this, Link, Red, Blue, Vio, Zelda, and Hoshimi were trying to keep themselves together as they all held on to either rocks or kelp stems, that way they won't get carried off by the repulsive currents.

"Woah! Not another sea storm!" Said Red.

"Hang on tight, everybody!" Vio exclaimed. "Don't let go!"

While this was still going on, polyps and sea anemones closed up, more fish hide inside the cracks of rocks or small caves, clown fish hid themselves in their anemone homes, and flounders bury themselves in the sand to take cover.

Hoshimi firmly gripped her hands on to a rock. "Oh! I bet this is Ganondorf's doing again!" She grunted.

"Ganondorf?" Exclaimed Red before realizing that he lost grip on the one of the fronds of kelp! "Eh? Ah!"

But, Hoshimi quickly grabbed hold of his hand before he can get swept away. "I got you! Hang on!"

"Thank you!"

Link sneered. "I hate it when he does this."

Zelda sighed. "All this time, he calls this his practice of his magic. But all it can do is getting the creatures upset and frightened."

"It is Ganondorf, all right." Said Vio sternly.

Blue then shouted. "Yeah! That big, dishonest, despicable sea devil has no right to push us around like this!"

In the darkest part of the Great Ocean, on the other side of Hylia, in a room inside a sinister looking castle, a tall man with dark colored skin, red orange hair, golden yellow eyes, and dressed in black armor, sat upon his throne like seat. He's the evil Sea Wizard, Ganondorf and he's been keeping watch on the Royal Mer-Hylian Children, with a diabolical grin. The way he's keeping a sharp eye on them is by looking at the surface on a large black pearl that's glowing with the purple aura of dark magic. "Heh, heh, heh. . ." He's quite amused at what Blue said about him.

Inside the pearl, Blue made another remark. "Boy! I'm going to have his head by the time I got through with him! He'll never see another light of day, I tell you all! You can never trust a guy like him!"

With that, Ganondorf chuckled some more. "Ha, ha! Little boy in blue, you can call me in whatever way you like. But, you must never forget this as if you should know as well as your siblings! I'm not only the most fiendish one in Hyrule, but I'm also the most dreaded being in the Great Sea as well! As long as I have my incredible powers, everything does as I command! Nothing and no one can have the power to overthrow me! Not even the King of the Great Sea, Thor can outrank me with his power of rule! Now, you and your siblings shall now bear witness on how much more power I can put into this maelstrom! I will be the most powerful being in this world! Ha ha ha ha!"

With that said, he used his magic to put in more control on the storm through the pearl!

When that happened, the currents grew stronger, the waves began to rise above the surface, thunder roared louder, and lightning began to strike! Ganondorf does have complete control on sea storms!

As the storm continue to blow, many small boats were lost at sea for now. Night time has fallen but, no one can see a speck of light from either the moon or the stars. The storm powers of Ganondorf were too great and more waves began to rise!

Back at the palace, Link and his siblings continued their struggle through the currents as they continue to grasp on whatever they can find in order to hold on. They're almost a few inches away the palace's entrance, now.

After grabbing on to a few more rocks, they're finally safe inside.

Once the doors closed behind them, Link asked. "Is. . . Is everyone all right?"

"Yeah." Said Hoshimi. "Everyone's here. Boy! That's quite a storm out there!"

"The whole thing made my head spiny." Said Blue in a daze.

Then, they all fell to the floor, exhausted. "Haaaah. . ."

In a while, six beautiful mermaids in colored robes came rushing to the Princes and Princesses.

The first one in blue kneeled down and asked them. "Oh! Thank goodness! You're all right!"

They all got themselves up and Hoshimi answered. "Yeah. We're all fine. Thank you Blue Maiden. But I think the storm will be lasting in a few more hours."

"We just got back from the outskirts of the kingdom." Said Red.

"Oh, bless Farore. You didn't even tell us that you're all out there while Lady Zelda is here. You all could have been carried away in the currents." The Blue Maiden continued. She actually felt very worried about the Royal Siblings.

The Yellow Maiden then said. "So, I believe that you, Hoshimi have been frolicking with the animals out there. Even though, you're the youngest."

Hoshimi nodded. "Yes, and I've also shown my siblings my own garden plot."

"Well, you weren't still tending it while Ganondorf has made the sea very rough. Were you, Lady Hoshimi?" The Red Maiden asked.

The youngest princess laughed. "Of course not. It just started right before we get a chance to head back inside. It's seemingly obvious Ganondorf starts all of these storms because he doesn't like any land ships crossing his part of the ocean. Plus, I didn't mind the storm. After all, I was with my siblings."

But, the maiden sighed and said to her. "Oh, please. Don't give me any of that. We already know the facts about that wizard."

"I think she's right, milady." The White Maiden agreed. "As one of Lord Thor's children, you must know that you got to be more careful. Sometimes, the Great Ocean, itself is dangerous. Especially during the season of when sharks are on their yearly prowl. You're never allowed to go off, swimming on your own."

Then, Hoshimi humbly replied after a small pause. "Oh, but Maidens, although I'm one of royal blood, I can outrun any shark in this ocean."

"But, you're still a princess. And with Ganondorf still living in our ocean, chances of getting in danger were very high and no one is safe swimming alone." Said Vio, crossing his arms. "Another thing is, you're still younger than us."

When she heard those words, Hoshimi grumbled softly.

Her brother continued. "The thing is, you won't be able to come of age if your magic isn't getting anywhere stronger. By all means, it's not close to match Zelda's strength."

After that, she pouted. "Hey! Come on! I'm still gathering strength! Only bit by bit! Watch this!" Then, she positioned her hands and cried out. "Din's Fire!" But when she performed that spell, she only made one, small spark. Not a single flame was made. Hoshimi just stared at what she just did. So did the others. "Uh. . . I just called it out. . ." She muttered.

"What is that?" Blue roared.

"Not so loud, Blue!" Said Green, trying to assure him that it's not right for a Prince to raise his voice against his sister.

Vio shook his head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. What did I tell you? It's still too weak. You need a little more practice on that."

"Oh. . ." Hoshimi moaned.

"You see, Hoshimi. We all want you to become a full-fledged Mer-Hylian Princess. But, the problem is you'll never become one if you don't learn how to keep control of your own powers. The thing that's keeping you from practicing is you playing around with the sea creatures and slipping away from the palace just to explore around the outskirts of Hylia." Said Link.

"Another fact is your father won't give you the Pearl of Din if you keep up the way you are now." Said the Purple Maiden.

With that, Hoshimi fell silent. Then she said to everyone around her. "Oh. . . . I'll be a very weak mer-hylian girl if he doesn't give it to me. I'll promise that I'll bring my strength up if you guys can give me a chance. I can please father if I can keep practicing. You know I'll do that. Will you, guys?"

At that, everyone didn't know what to say to her.

Hoshimi looked around at all the silence from the maidens and her siblings. Then she thought of something. _"Hmm, this absolute silence really takes it out of not only me, but everybody else here. Maybe I can do this."_ "Hey! Maybe I can please you all with a little music." She took out her pearl white ocarina. She had it ever since she's a small mermaid. It was a gift from all the Six Maidens, themselves.

But before she can play a tune or two, a call rang out. "Hoshimi!" It's the voice of the King.

"Hmm?" She puts her ocarina away and answered back. "Oh! Yes, father?"

His voice answered. "Come here and bring your siblings along with the Maidens."

Everyone looked at each other. Then, Link announced. "Ah, coming Father!"

So, all Six Maidens lead the Princes and Princesses to the grand throne room where they'll meet their father for an announcement that he'll be speaking to them.

Once they entered the room through the doors, the Maidens assembled themselves at one part of the room while Link, Red, Blue, Vio, Zelda, and Hoshimi assembled in front of their father's throne. The maidens bowed their heads first before the Royal Children bowed and curtsied before him.

Then, in unison they asked. "What is it, our great father?"

The King, Thor smiled and answered them. "I'm now giving you all in words that it's not safe for you to be up and about during tonight's storm. All of you shall go to bed early tonight."

"Yes father." They all spoke before turning to the door. "Goodnight!"

Hoshimi was about to leave too before her father said. "Hoshimi? Will you come here for a moment?"

She turned with a questioned expression on her face before swimming up to her father's throne to listen. "Yes, father? What is it?"

Thor told her. "Now, I want you to keep in mind of this. This time I hope you won't forget it."

Hoshimi gulped a bit before asking. "O. . . Okay. What's that?"

"Tomorrow, there's going to be an important ceremony and I _definitely_ want you to attend it. Your sister, Zelda is going to be receiving the Pearl of Naryu and I want you to play Naryu's Song with your ocarina there. Please, please keep that in mind tomorrow and I don't want to hear a single word about you being distracted." The King said to her. "Now, if you attend this ceremony at the right cue tomorrow, I will arrange a ceremony of when you'll get the Pearl of Din. Do I make myself clear, my daughter?"

At first, Hoshimi didn't know if it will be simple. But, she knows she wants the pearl very badly. Of course, she always wanted to have others listen to her ocarina music. She enjoyed playing it for the Maidens, her father, and her siblings. But, she never seen anyone else listening to her music because, her father will hardly let her swim among the village of Hylia. So, without hesitation, she said to him. "Of course. I'll be there, father. I won't forget it." _"I hope. . ."_ She thought to herself, though.

But, the King smiled and said. "Very good. Now, you run along and head to bed."

With that, Hoshimi giggled and swam off, cheerfully saying. "Goodnight!"

After she swam off, the King and the Maidens smiled and nodded at each other.

In her bed, Hoshimi thought about the Pearl of Din. She even remembered the time of when Link, Red, Vio, and Blue, each received four separate pearls of the Pearl of Farore. It's been said that the pearl started off as four. But, if there's a time when chaos ever reigns in Hylia or Hyrule, the four pearls will form into one.

The Pearl of Farore will also join powers with the Pearl of Naryu and the Pearl of Din when there's a time of havoc. When all powers of all three pearls were joined into one, it will greatly banish evil forever, bring peace and restore balance between Hyrule and the Great Sea.

Hoshimi also thought of the Triforce fragments her sister and brothers shared. But, when she looked at her back of her right hand, she let out a sigh when she saw the Triforce symbol with only the top triangle showing its right half. The other half isn't there. _"I usually know that the Triforce has three complete triangles. But what does this one mean?"_ She kept wondering about why she's different from the rest of her siblings. Then, she drifted off to her sleep.

Yes, Hoshimi is the only one in the family who doesn't know that part of her Triforce trademark is missing. She's supposed to be someone who's born under the Triforce of Power but, part of her rightful power is lost somewhere.

* * *

Vio: I've never heard of anyone having only half of a Triforce fragment.

M.S.K: (Nods her head.)

Blue: I'm guessing that. . .

M.S.K: Ah! (covers his mouth with her hand) Don't give it away! You'll spoil it!

Blue: (Starts muffling protests while trying to pry off her hand.)

M.S.K: So, I'll be writing the next chapter very soon and update it when I had the time. Do feel free to review or comment. Have a nice day!

Blue: (Still muffling)

Link: I think you should let him breathe now.

M.S.K: (Removes her hand.)

Blue: Gah! (pants for a bit) What was that for?

M.S.K: I told you, didn't I? I don't want you to give the whole thing away!


	3. Hyrule According to Hoshimi

M.S.K: Konnichi wa, minna san! Sorry for the wait, once more. I've been doing a few revisions on this chapter and I was trying to come up with a few things that will be coming soon in the future chapters. Plus, I was still struggling on deciding on who I'll be at an anime con. Well, better move onwards for now. So, Red? Are you ready for it, hon?

Red: Yay! Kaoru doesn't own Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. She only owns this story's second princess. Everything about Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo!

M.S.K: (Hugs Red and gives him a noogie) Thank you soooo much, you little hero of cuteness! Take that!

Red: Ha ha ha! Ha ha! Stop that! You're tickling me! Ha ha ha!

Zelda: (Giggles)

Green: He always makes girls awe.

Vio: . . . . ^_^

Blue: Kinda mushy if you ask me.

M.S.K: (Releases Red.) And now. . .

Navi: On with the show!

* * *

Chapter 2: Hyrule According to Hoshimi

During the next following day, everybody in Hylia came over to the Mer-Hylian Palace in many crowds from the village. This is because they're there to join the celebration of Zelda's receiving of the Pearl of Naryu.

When everyone entered the Throne Room, they all assembled themselves to the different sides of the room.

A great fanfare blurred out and after that, an announcer called out. "Her Royal Highness! Princess Zelda!"

The curtains opened and there stood Zelda and her brothers, behind her. They were all dressed in their best mer-hylian robes to look their best for the ceremony. Behind the Royal Children are all of the Six Maidens in their best outfits too.

All of the mer-hylian people applaud as she made her way to her father's throne with her brothers swimming lightly from behind.

Thor, in his royal robes, watched with a gentle smile as his first daughter came up to him, slowly. But when he took a look around the room to find Hoshimi, she wasn't in sight. Then he thought of something. He thought that maybe Hoshimi will make her cue to play her ocarina when the time is right.

When Zelda and her brothers reached the stairway to her father's throne, a servant swam over to Thor with a cushion and a closed scallop shell on it. The Six Maidens went over to the side of the throne's stairway and assembled themselves.

The King took the scallop shell and gestured for the servant to return to his position. Next, he opened the shell and showed everyone what he pulled out of it. It's a necklace with a deep blue colored pearl as its pendant! It's the Pearl of Naryu!

Everyone around the room gasped with astonishment and amazement.

Link, Red, Blue, and Vio were amazed too.

Zelda's eyes widened with delight.

Then the King swam slowly to her and placed the pearl around her neck. After doing so, he said to her. "This Pearl of Naryu represents itself as a symbol of your part of the Triforce in which you're born under. It will acts as your pass to allow you to come and go as you please. May you bring credit to the Kingdom of Hylia, wherever you roam, dearest Zelda."

She nodded and said. "Oh! I'll do my very best, father!" With that said, she curtsied before him.

After that, everyone in the throne room cheered and applaud.

When everyone silenced their clapping and cheering, Thor went his way back to the throne and announced proudly. "And now to collaborate this glorious occasion, a special concert will be held in the royal amphitheater, where Hoshimi and Zelda, themselves will treat us with Naryu's Song."

So, everyone sat down on their seats around the amphitheater. The stage was ready for the performance to start.

Thor sat at a box seat with Link, Red, Blue, and Vio. While they're waiting for the performance to start, the King told his green tailed son. "I'm really looking forward to this. Aren't you too, my son?"

Link chuckled. "Oh! I do, father! I do think that this will be the greatest concert ever!"

"This will be fantastic! I can't wait!" Squealed Red with excitement.

"More than plain old fantastic, Red." Said Blue, giving his brother a small knock on the back.

"Eeep!"

Thor chuckled too. "Well, the best part I'm waiting for is Hoshimi and her little Ocarina of the Great Ocean."

"Ah, yes. That's right." Link laughed. "She not only has a beautiful voice but, she always brings marvelous serenades to all of the people of Hylia and all of the creatures here in the sea."

Vio, however nodded. Then he said to himself. "That's for sure. If only she rehearses her songs for once."

Now, everyone waited with anticipation for the concert to start. Finally, the lights dimmed their glow as a sign that it's going to be starting. Everyone clapped once more.

An announcer came out and said. "Now presenting, the bearer of the Pearl of Naryu, Princess Zelda!"

The curtain rose and there's the princess, curtseying with a smile as the spotlight shone upon her.

Next, the announcer blurred out. "And now, the bearer of the Ocarina of the Great Ocean, Princess Hoshimi!"

But, when the spotlight shown itself on one part of the stage, it revealed that it's empty! Hoshimi didn't appear like she's supposed to!

Everyone in the audience gasped. So did Zelda, Link, Red, Vio, Blue and Thor.

However, after seeing the situation, the King roared with his booming voice throughout the amphitheater. "Hoshimi!"

Before anything else can happen, Zelda tried to calm her father down by saying, "Wait! Please father! Before you can jump to anything, I hope you'll accept this suggestion. I think I'll be fine by singing Naryu's Song without an accompaniment."

"But, daughter. . ."

"Please father? You can at least let me try. While I'm at that, you can have Link and rest find her."

After a few seconds of thinking, Thor then agreed. "Okay. We can go with that." Then he turned to his sons. "Link, and the rest of you. Go out into the sea and search for Hoshimi. Make sure she's completely out of trouble. When you bring her back, I want to have a word with her."

"Yes, father." They all said before swimming off to get their weapons and start their search for their younger sister.

At that, the crowd rang their cheers.

Then, Zelda began to sing Naryu's song for them.

At that time, Hoshimi was out swimming through dark and cold waters in another part of the Great Ocean. Around her were some sinister shaped rocks amongst the great ocean floor which was littered with broken and sunken boats and ships. She's in the middle of a shipwreck graveyard.

As she continued to explore further, she happen to come upon a ship that looks neatly built still, even though it has a few cracks, holes and broken wood on the masts and the rudder. "Huh. This looks peculiar. This ship must have been sunken by Ganondorf's storm magic from yesterday."

She continued her way towards the ship. "Maybe a small peak inside won't hurt at all. Would it?" With that, she slipped inside through an open porthole.

When she did that, a shadowy figure swam by.

Inside the ship, Hoshimi found a lot of things that are already smashed, torn, wrecked, and broken in the wreckage. She also found a few drowned corpses of some sailors from the upper world. But, she didn't complain. As she continued to explore the ship, she then heard a loud _crack!_ She looked up, and a plank of wood is about to fall on top of her! But, gradually she swam out of the way and it landed on the floor. "Phew! That's a close one! Well, it couldn't get worse."

She swam her way up through the hole of where the plank of wood fell from. After she got out from the other side of the hole, she found a glowing purple light coming from a chest. She swam closer to the chest, opened it and found something strange and exciting inside! What she found is a purple rupee! "Wowee! What a gem! But, I don't know what it's called." Well, apparently, since she's a mer-hylian girl, she doesn't have any idea of what a rupee is. It's not close to the currency her people used, called Shell Rupees. "If I keep this here, maybe the maidens or my siblings will know what it is." She placed it in her handbag that she brought with her.

Then, the shadowy figure swam by again. Hoshimi could have sworn that she thought she heard something. But, too shake off her tension, she swam over to another object she found. "Hmm. I wonder what this is called." The object she found is a small knife with the Triforce engraved on its hilt. "Huh. Very interesting. Perhaps the Blue Maiden's fairy might know."

As she placed the little knife in her bag, she felt a small pulse on her right hand. The incomplete Triforce on the back of her hand has detected something. Something dangerous and it's approaching fast. Trying to be alert, Hoshimi softened her tension to panic and start to rely on her senses. In a few seconds, she saw a large shadow overlapping hers as she stared down on the shipwrecked floor. Then she turned around and saw what's looming over her! It's a giant sea serpent, ready to attack with its sharp knife-like teeth as it opened its jaws!

When she finally saw that creature, Hoshimi positioned herself to fight it. "All right, pal! You want to play? Well come and get me first!" She said with a smirk.

Without wasting a second or two, the giant serpent glanced a few meters back first, then lunged in through the shipwreck's window!

Hoshimi managed to dodge as well as the shattered glass while the monster hit itself upon one of the walls.

But, that creature isn't planning to give up so easily because it wants to get its food! Wanting to begin his meal from 'scratch', he lunged in at the princess once more! But, Hoshimi was too fast!

The princess quickly found a barrel, and picked it up. "Hey! Mr. In-Need-Of-A-Toothbrush! Hungry? Well, eat this!" With that, she threw the barrel into the monster's mouth!

The barrel, itself is about the same exact size as his mouth when the sea serpent held it between it's teeth. Startled by what she just did at first, the monster tried to shake its head to get the barrel free from its mouth, but the task was fatal.

"Now, have some of this!" She swam towards the sea serpent, and used her tail to roughly slap its eyes.

Meanwhile, Link and his brothers were swimming through the shipwreck graveyard, still trying to find their sister. Then, Link felt his Triforce power pulsing too. "Ah! Guys! Let's stop for a moment! I felt my power vibrating."

"I do too!" Said Red as he and the other two stopped on their tracks.

"And me!" Said Blue.

Vio can sense that it's coming from one of the sunken ships. "It's coming from over there, guys! It's probably from Hoshimi!" He said pointing over to that shipwreck where she's practically located.

"What?" Blue shrieked. "She's in a shipwreck all by herself? That's just incredibly stupid! There can be sharks swimming around a place like this!"

When he heard what he said, Red began to panic. "Oh no! She can be in terrible danger!"

"We have to get her out of there!" Said Link.

"But, it's dangerous and risky!" His second brother pleaded, trying to hide behind his back.

"But, Green is right." Said Vio, unsheathing his sword. "If Hoshimi's there, then we should get her out of there."

"Let's hurry!" He said, taking the lead, like always.

So, everyone followed Link towards the shipwreck where Hoshimi is still fighting the sea serpent.

She's constantly tail slapping its eyes, still. "Okay, big scales! Take this! And that! And that!"

Getting slightly irritated, the sea monster crushed the barrel with its teeth and began to lunge at Hoshimi again.

But, before it can proceed any further, a slash of force power hits it on the forehead! The monster pulled himself back as it shrieked in pain.

Hoshimi saw its reaction and looked up. She saw her brothers swimming down to her."Ah! You guys! What are you doing here?"

"You first!" Said Blue.

"What were you doing over here instead of back in the. . ." Vio is about to ask her about why she isn't at the ceremony before she cried.

"Look out!"

The Giant Sea Serpent is about to attack him from behind.

Red saw the monster too and cried, turning away from it, covering his eyes. "Gyaah! I'm scared!"

Hoshimi wasted no time by created a blue crystal from her own magic and threw it at the monster! She's pretty good with Naryu's Love. Even if it's not in full strength just yet.

The serpent shrieked again in pain.

Link yelled. "Come on! Let's get out of here!"

Everyone swam up to another level of the shipwreck, hoping to evade the vicious creature.

But, once they got there, what they didn't expect is to see that the serpent popped out through the wooden floor!

"Swim for your lives!" Screamed Red, as they all turned around to find another escape route. However, he did remember that he's not yet fast enough to outrun a sea serpent so easily. He kept swimming as fast as his fins would let him but, the serpent is coming closer and closer to him, opening its jaws!

"Move it, Red! He's gaining on your tail!" Shouted Blue.

When he turned around, he's now about to meet the sharp teeth of the monster's mouth! He's about to get eaten! "Aaaah!" He screamed before wincing his eyes shut.

Then, there's a big loud _chomp_!

Red opened his eyes! The teeth didn't land on his tail at all! The monster's jaws are now clutching a giant rock! This was all done by Hoshimi! His younger sister spared him!

As the young mermaid grappled her arms around the monster's neck, she called out to him. "Come on! Move it!"

Without waiting a second or two, Red hastily made his way to his brothers while Hoshimi lifted the monster up and swam over to a wall with it.

Then, she bashed the serpent's head upon the wall. After that, she swam back to her brothers. They make a quick escape back outside of the shipwreck.

Before they can relax, a loud crack distracts them!

The sea serpent wasn't in injury for long! It gave chase and the five mer-hylian children swam as fast as they could through the water.

As they swam, Link said. "I think that thing definitely doesn't want us hanging around."

"That beast doesn't know when to give up!" Said Blue.

Well, even as fast as they can swim, most of the royal mer-hylian children managed to give the monster some damage from all they're equipped with.

Blue happened to get one of its fins with his sword but, it only made the creature even more angrier!

As the sea serpent roared in fury, it spun in a few circles in the water. As it did so, it happened to knock Red on the back with its tail, sending him flying down to the rocky sea floor! "Ack!"

When Vio, Link, Blue, and Hoshimi caught notice, they all swam down to catch their brother before he can land on the rocks, next to an anchor that's sitting there on one spot of the seabed. They can see that the monster is also going down for its lunch too!

Once they made it to the bottom, Hoshimi caught Red safely. Through the loop hole of the anchor's top, she can see the monster coming in fast! But, she knows one thing as she smirked.

When the monster is close enough, she quickly swam away from the loop hole with Red, and the giant serpent was stuck fast around the throat, through the loop hole of the anchor! It tried to wriggle out but, it's useless! Everyone laughed at the monster's fatal struggle.

Hoshimi let go of her second eldest brother and chuckled. "Ha ha! That will teach you!"

"Yeah! You should have stayed in school!" Said Blue.

"Of course it would have." Said Vio. "Now, let's get out of this place." So, he, Blue, Hoshimi, and Link swam out.

"Oh! Wait a second!" Said Hoshimi.

"Oh! What is it?" Asked Blue with a large amount of impatience in his voice.

She answered him. "I need to pay a visit with Navi first. There are a few things I want to ask her about."

"Like what?" Her blue tunic-dressed brother asked her. "We don't have any time to. . ."

"Come on!" She said as she took him, Link, and Vio along with her as she swam up to the surface.

Before he can catch up with the others, Red is just staring at the sea serpent. Then he slapped its head with his fins. "Big meanie head! That's for trying to bite my tail off!" Then he blew a raspberry at it before earning a loud roar from the monster, which got him scared and he quickly swam up to the others.

Hoshimi chuckled once he got to them. "Ha ha! You know, Red? Sometimes you really are a scaredy catfish. Don't you think?"

"Am not!" He retorted.

After they're gone, the sea serpent continued to struggle effortlessly against the trap he's in.

However, a voice said behind him. "There's no need for you to struggle so brashly." Then, appearing from behind a black rock is a young mer-hylian boy who looked exactly like the Four Princes. But, the only thing that's different about him is his raven black hair, black tunic, black hat, ruby red eyes, and his tail. His fish tail is in a pure black color and his dagger-like fins were gray. He frowned deeply at the creature. "I've seen that you let her got away. Too bad, this mistake is going to cost you heavily."

The monster struggled again, but the boy said to him. "No, no. You're not struggling anymore in this picture. In fact. . ." He raised up his hand and a sphere of purple energy formed up at the palm of it. Then, bared his fang like teeth while hissing out loud. "You're not going to be living for long!"

With that, he threw the ball of dark energy at the monster that's still trying to escape, but it's too late. The dark energy hit it and dispersed it to dust.

After he turned around and swam away slowly, a wide smirk spread across its face. "Mer-hylian Princess Hoshimi. . . . I'm thoroughly impressed. . . that you're able to evade me. But next time. . . it won't be so easy."

Up upon the surface, there was a small rocky island and inside the biggest rock, there is a large hole, making it look like an entrance to a small cave with most of the sea water flooding inside of it. Inside the little hole, the walls of its cavern were covered with pearl white shells and sea glass.

Living inside this small cave is a little glowing seashore fairy surrounded by a few piles of sea glass and mermaid's tears on a rocky platform which is covered with some of the ocean water. Amongst her blue light, she's wearing a light blue dress that perfectly fits her small body with a deep blue cloth belt around her waist. Her light blue hair reached her waist as it sparkled. She is busy counting the amounts of sea glass she has already gathered according to color. "Twenty nine, thirty, thirty one, thirty two. Yup! Thirty two for the pile of ivory white." She said to herself as she accomplished going over the white pile of stones.

It wasn't too long before she heard a call with a familiar voice, shouting out. "Hey! Navi!"

"Oh!" Hearing her name being called, she turned around and called back towards the calm ocean. "Hey! Hey there, Hoshimi! How are you doing?"

The princess giggled and said to her, while sitting on a rock at the entrance to her cave. "We're already here, Navi."

"Hmm?" The fairy looked over to her and flew over to the entrance. "Oh! I didn't even see you there!" She chuckled. Then she saw Link and the rest. "Well! I didn't expect to see that Hoshimi brought her brothers along."

"We've come to visit you, Navi." Said Red, gleefully as he and his brothers climbed up to the rocks that are near their sister's.

The fairy giggled again, then asked Hoshimi. "Now, what have you come up here for? Didn't your father reminded you about the ban he made upon his kingdom?"

"Well, I know that." She replied. "But, I have to. Because. . ." Hoshimi took out her bag and showed it to the fairy. "Guess what I've found, today!"

"Oh. . ."

Link then said to her. "You see, Navi. We were swimming along and we were in this shipwreck, and then there's this. . ."

But, Navi interrupted by saying. "I see you've found discoveries from a Hylian ship. Am I right?" She was having her focus on Hoshimi's hand bag. "Let me have a looksie!" Without waiting a second or two, the little fairy flew inside the moist bag. "Hmm! These things must be from the ship Ganondorf sunk.

The first item she pulled out is the purple rupee that Hoshimi found earlier. "Well now! Look at this! That's very unusual to be found here in the Great Sea. It usually belongs to the towns and villages that are civilized in the upper world."

"Really?" Asked the princess for she's truly curious about the little jewel that's used for currency, and she's eager to know what it is. "What's it called, then?"

"This, Princess is a Hylian Rupee!" The little fairy exclaimed as she had it gleaming under the sun. "This one in this color is worth of five hundred green rupees!"

Now, Hoshimi is questioned. "What do you mean exactly, Navi? I mean, I usually know things of how much each colored shell rupee is worth. But, I've never seen one from above the surface before."

"You really don't know that?" Red asked her.

"Well, I'm only saying that I'm surprised that they used something that's remotely similar to us." She answered her brother.

Then, Navi explained. "To start off, Hoshimi. What I usually see in all of my everyday flights around Hyrule, is that Hylians used these things to buy and trade items with, like your people do with shell rupees. Like the green clam rupee will be worth of one in your world, while the green rupee will cost the same. And of course there are the red rupee, yellow, and blue rupees that are remotely similar to the red scallop shell, the yellow sea snail shell, and the blue abalone shell." Then she happily scooted the rupee back to the princess. "I bet you, Hoshimi, have figured out that the purple sand dollar is worth about as much as this purple rupee, now that I've explained everything to you!"

"Of course." She giggled, taking the rupee in her hand. "This could be fitting with the collection of sand dollars I have already."

Link rubbed his head, saying to her. "You'll probably end up being the richest mer-hylian princess in the sea."

Red reached into her bag and pulled out the knife that Hoshimi found from the shipwreck. "Say, what about this thing? Do you know what it is, Navi?"

"Hmm?" She flew over and hovered around the knife and gasped. "Oh! This!" Then she turned to his sister. "Hoshimi! Did you found this in the same shipwreck too?"

She nodded and the fairy said. "Why! I can't believe that you found this there! Not only your father will be surprised, but also all of Hylia!"

"Just exactly, what is it?" Said Blue.

"This is a legendary tool used by many heroes of Hyrule in the past! Including the boy who used the Four Sword which ended up here in the Great Ocean!" She said. "This my friends, is the legendary, marvelous, magical Knife of Hylia's Tears. It's also been said that if Hylia and Hyrule were to fall into the hands of peril, this knife will come to their aid alongside with the Four Sword and the Pearls of the Three Goddesses."

"Oooooh. . . ." The Princes and Princess were amazed.

But, Vio happens to realize something. "Wait. Isn't that the knife that's supposed to be guarded in a sea cave that's across from the undying reef where our Four Sword is originated?"

Blue agreed. "I don't see how it ended up in the shipwreck where we fought the sea serpent."

"I'm wondering too, Vio." Said Link.

"It probably ended up being stolen by pirates and then, when sailing away, they ran into a storm and got sunk by Ganondorf's magic." Hoshimi wondered.

"That could be it!" Said Red.

Navi announced. "All of you are right!"

"Huh?" They asked her in unison.

"Yesterday, while hiding in my small cave, I saw a pirate ship sailing away from the area where the sea cave is, before the storm hits it." She placed the knife down and hovered around in a satisfied way. "In a certain way, I'm quite thankful that storm hit them for otherwise, I would've told my mistress, the Blue Maiden about what I saw. If all of you would ask me, the screams of those pirates, meeting their watery graves are like music to my ears."

Then, something of what the small fairy said rang a bell to Hoshimi's mind! "Wait! Music?"

It also rang a bell to Vio too. He forgotten all about his duty to bring his sister back to the palace! "Hoshimi. . . Have you now realized you've forgotten something?" He asked her, slightly.

Blue, Link, and Red also faced her in the same way.

At last, the snow white haired princess exclaimed. "Gah! The ceremony to honor Zelda! Oh my gosh! I should have been there to play my ocarina! Father is going to turn me into chowder, waiting for the scent of tartar sauce once I get home!" She quickly stuffed the purple rupee into her bag.

"We better hurry home!" Exclaimed Link. "There's not a minute to lose, sister! Father is going to be furious!"

"Originally, I want to keep the ceremony in my mind but, instead I've become way too careless and it slipped out of me!" She squirmed.

Vio laid his hand on his forehead and sighed. "Hurgh! I knew I should have told you not to sleep late."

Navi slipped the magic knife into Hoshimi's bag and asked. "Is. . . Is there anyway I can do to help you, dear?"

"Oh! I'm afraid not. Not for now, Navi." The princess said before grabbing her bag, slipping into the water with her brothers. "I really got to go! Thank you by the way!"

"Anytime, Princess!" The fairy waved back.

With that said, she, Link, Blue, Red, and Vio dove back into the water to swim back home.

As they hurriedly swim back to the kingdom, they didn't even bother to notice that the same mer-hylian boy with dark features from the shipwreck graveyard was spying on them while hiding in a dark rocky cavern. Especially on Hoshimi. He chuckled softly as he smirked. "There you are. . . Hoshimi. . ."

He showed his right hand in front of him and a murky purple orb formed on his palm. It then viewed Ganondorf. "My lord, I hate to interrupt you but, I think I've found something that you might want to see." He showed him the youngest princess of the King.

From inside his magic pearl, Ganondorf saw Hoshimi too. This dark mer-hylian boy is giving him his message through the use of his powers to him. The wizard smirked. "Oh yes. . . Now that is something I want to see with my own eyes. Heh heh. . ."

"I can see that you're quite interested with her, my lord." The boy said through his magic. "But, take a look at those worried eyes on her pretty face. I wonder what she's swimming hastily for."

It's not too surprising that Ganondorf has already known what Hoshimi is swimming home for. "Oh, it's something incredibly important. This princess is suppose to participate for her sister's occasion to receive Naryu's Pearl. I suppose that she has missed it by doing her usual doings. By all means, doing something that wastes the precious time the celebration. Humph. Indeed, when I used to live in the palace, I was nominated to take position as someone who will gratefully earn Thor's trust. Then later on, before completing the very first part of fulfilling my own wishes, he is able to find out about what I was doing and after that, I was exiled here."

Then, the boy's smirk began to change into a frown of concern. "Speaking of pearls, my lord. I only wanted to tell you that I felt a great sense of something serious about the youngest princess. I believe it could be the power you've been seeking for all these years."

"Oh?"

"You see, we've already known that those four foolish princes have gotten the four fragments of Farore's Pearl and now, Zelda has Naryu's. There might be a point of time when the secondary princess will get the Pearl of Din. If she gets it, then everything in the legend will come true." The boy said to him.

Ganondorf then frowned as well. "I expected that it will be coming up on us sooner than later." Then, his frown deepened. "Hmph! The King, Thor is such a fool since the day he banished me from my position as his adviser for the kingdom. After having that girl as his daughter, things were slightly irreplaceable since I only have half the power I want! We can't have the Goddesses' pearls joining powers yet until my plan is complete!"

"Huh?" Asked the boy. "What is that, my lord?"

"Must you question me about my negotiations of the plan?"

"Oh. . . Sorry, my lord."

"Don't let that happen again."

"Yes, my lord."

"Good. Now, part of my plan to succeed is not only I'll need the Pearl of Din, but also I do need the princess, Hoshimi, herself!" He explained.

The dark mer-hylian boy blinked. "Hoshimi? How will she affiliate with us?"

The wizard stared at him sternly again. But, he sighed. "I told you not to question anything about the plan but, I think the one you asked me seconds earlier will do. Now, the reason why is that no matter what methods you'll be using, I want you to get her to cooperate. I'll be giving Thor something to be proud of as soon as he's out of my way for good!" Throughout his sinister thinking, Ganondorf smirked even wider this time. He believed that Hoshimi will be the perfect asset for what he'll be scheming.

After that, he said. "Now! Shadow Link!"

"Yes, my lord?"

"For the time being, until the right time for the first phase of the plan, I want you to keep an extremely sharp eye on Thor's beauteous wonder of a mermaid. Once you know when your part is ready to play, do whatever means necessary to bring her engagement with you. Don't reveal anything about our goals to her." He explained to him, evilly.

The boy, Shadow Link smirked once more. "Yes, Lord Ganondorf." He also find Hoshimi as a perfect asset to the plan too. "This should be a piece of coral cake for me." Then he silently swam over to the Kingdom of Hylia in order to keep watch on the princess.

In his domain, Ganondorf made another sinister chuckle. "Ha ha ha ha ha. . . . Yes. . . . For the undoing of King Thor, Hoshimi will be the glorious part of what I will have in store for Hylia and Hyrule. . ."

* * *

M.S.K: Surprised you, didn't I? Yes. Shadow is here too. I'll be writing the next chapter and update it soon. I might be pretty busy for the time being but, I'll find time to write, though. Anyway, do send me a review or a comment. ^_^ See you soon!

Blue: Woah! Woah! Woah! Back up! Shadow Link is here too?

M.S.K: Of course. What else can I do about antagonists besides Ganondorf.

Shadow Link: (Creeps in from a cloud of shadows) Did someone mention me. . . . .

M.S.K: (Shudders a bit) Uh. . . Yes?

All Four Links: (Jumped in surprise and glanced.)

Blue: What. . . What are you doing here, for Farore's sake!

Shadow: My oh, my. Is that any way to welcome a visitor? (Turns to the authoress) And how are you. . . .?

M.S.K: Eh. . . . .

Shadow: (Walks slowly to her) Now, there's no need to be shy. Is there, Kaoru-chan?

M.S.K: (blushes) _Oh dear. Come on! Say something!_


	4. Hyrule, The Upper World, Forbidden?

Link: Okay, okay, everyone. We all know it's been a little bit of a delay because the authoress has been busy with something was once up all night watching a certain anime that happens to be quite addictive upon her. But, she's finally got this chapter up to date now. We also had to remind you that two of her own characters are going to be introduced and there's one character in this chapter who will be joining us, after she has gotten permission from another writer. So, she doesn't own him. But, she is also given permission to do a few minor alterations with him. Now, Blue. It's your turn.

Blue: YES! Finally! (Jumps in) For the disclaimer's notice, Kaoru doesn't own a single thing about Legend Of Zelda: Four Swords. She only owns her characters and she doesn't own the new guy we have in this story. Everything about our game belongs to Nintendo.

Link: That's good for you, now. So, um. . . Kaoru-san? Do you think you can continue with this chapter opening?

M.S.K: (Lies on a soft futon upon her front side while Shadow Link is constantly rubbing her back with his hands. Also blushes while he's doing so.) Haaah~

Shadow: (Smirks) Mmhmm! Feels good, doesn't it?

Link and others: -_-. . . . Um. . . . Kaoru?

M.S.K: Oh. . . . You guys can just go on without me. I'll catch up. Haaah. . . Raku desu. . . . (How relaxing. . .)

Link: . . . . Okay, I think she's pretty. . . . busy right now. On with the story.

* * *

Chapter 3: Hyrule, the Upper World, Forbidden?

Later that afternoon, Link, his brothers, and Zelda have already brought Hoshimi over to their father's throne room to talk about what happened during the ceremony.

There's not only Thor, himself. The Six Maidens were assembled on the right side of the throne while there are also two more people on the left side.

One of them is a tall young man dressed in a tight teal colored body suit while wearing a thin white poncho which reached from his shoulders to his torso. The poncho bears an ancient looking eye on it. His hands were covered by black fingerless gloves. He had short blonde hair and on his head, he's wearing a cap made from long white straps of fabric. Also, half of his face was covered by a thick white scarf.

Standing close beside him is a young boy who's roughly the same age as Link, Red, Vio, and Blue. He is dressed in a shinobi-like garment that can make him resemble a ninja. He had black hair and there's a black bandana tied around his head. On his left cheek he had an X marked scar. Tied around his back was a katana as well.

King Thor sighed at his youngest daughter. "Oh. . . What will I do with you. . . You've said to me last night that you'll remember to do your part at the ceremony and then, just now, you snuck out of the palace without any permission from your father." He's practically disappointed about what Hoshimi did.

"Look. Father, I know I've made you feel this way. But, it's just that this morning, it's a beautiful one, ever since the storm died down. It's too much for me to resist the fact I enjoyed exploring places beyond Hylia on such a day when the water is shimmering and. . ." She tried saying to him.

"Do let me finish!" The King ordered. After she fell silent. "You see, by the conclusion of you, becoming careless. . ."

"Careless, and reckless, your majesty." Suggested the young man in the body suit.

"Yes, thank you, Shrakah." Thor replied to him before turning back to his daughter. "Everything in the celebration was going well until. . ."

"Until it's completely ruined!" Exclaimed the little boy who's standing besides Shrakah. "That's what happened! Even with Zelda singing Naryu's Song without your ocarina, everything just went nontraditional and out of the ordinary!"

"Keir is right." Said Shrakah, crossing his arms. "As his majesty have told you, the ceremony is very important and you shouldn't be completely careless enough to forget it. Zelda's earning of her pearl is part of the tradition of becoming a full fledged mer-hylian princess. It's a custom passed down for many years. You however, are not yet close enough to earn the Pearl of Din because you're the only one in this family who's apparently the youngest. Plus, it's not acceptable if you keep slipping off."

After hearing him, Hoshimi lowered her head. "Thanks, Shrakah. That helps a lot since you're meant to be the watchful Mer-Sheikah spy, hired by Father." She said with sarcasm.

"Hoshimi!" Said her brothers and sister in unison while Shrakah cleared his throat sternly.

Then, Keir remarked. "You know better than saying things like that, Princess. The thing we're talking about right now is not about our tribe! It's about our concern about the Pearl of Power and you, all because you slipped out of the palace and trespassed a shipwreck cementary!"

"Well, it's not like she missed the celebration because she didn't want to take part of it. It only slipped out of her mind, making her forget so." Red spoke, wanting to have a say in this conversation too.

Keir turned over to him and asked. "How will you speak about it?"

Red stayed silent for a short moment and made his answer. "Well, it's very unlikely to be explained. Because, you see Father, here's what happened when me, Link, Blue, and Vio went out there to look for her. We entered the graveyard of ships and there was this big sea monster. Very big, long, scaly, and ugly looking too. Plus, his teeth looked like he's never brushed them at all."

Keir, Shrakah, the Maidens, and the King looked at each other with questioned looks. They highly doubt if Hoshimi has ever met a monster but, it's not the first time she's ever encountered one and it may not be the last either.

"A sea serpent?" The Mer-Sheikah asked Keir but, he shrugged.

Red continued the story. "Yes, yes. So, we got into a fight with it. We gave it everything we got. Our swords, Hoshimi's magic and all. But, we always made go like. . Like, growwwwl! And at one moment, we're all like, woah! Woah! Woah! Until finally, we're safe with relief at the fact none of us were hurt. Then, we went up and meet with Navi, the fairy to. . . ."

Before the Second Prince can continue any further, Thor had something remind him through his mind. Something that his children have known. "Wait! A seashore fairy?" He asked sternly.

"Navi?" Asked the Blue Maiden.

Red gasped and swam behind Hoshimi who turned and stared at him. He then notices that it's not only her but also Zelda and his brothers. "Um, why is everyone staring at me?" Then, he's knocked on the head by Blue. "Ow!"

"You gave it away! Dang it! By the Three Goddesses!" He shouted at him while Link face palmed himself and Vio rolled his eyes.

"Hoshimi." Said the King as he approached her after placing his Trident of Hylia by his chair.

The young princess turned around to face him.

He asked her once more. "Hoshimi, did you went up to the surface again? And you brought your brothers up there too?"

From their position, the Six Maidens were whispering to each other about what the Princess has been doing.

She stood on her spot silently and blinked with a tense look in her eyes. She can guess that he knows that she went up there, even though she's not supposed to.

"Well? Did you?" The King demanded.

"Well. . . ." She mumbled. "Yeah. But, nothing bad happened though. Really."

Thor let out a semi frustrated sigh and said to her. "Oh! Hoshimi! We've been through this many, many times and still, you've shunned my regulations. I'm saying this to you once and I'm never going to repeat it again. You must never go up to Hyrule."

Then, she blinked. "I know that. But, my question is, how can you be so suspicious about Hyrule, father? How can it be a bad place?"

"The reason is because it's not safe up there! Especially for mer-hylians at your age! You could have been caught by one of those vicious devils, those. . . those vulgar Hylians!"

"Father! Reason yourself! I can assure you that they're not evil! No matter what you say about them, they're not evil!"

"You just listen! They _are_ dangerous! Dangerous beings of the worst kind! I never want to hear anything that sounds like a piece of news saying that my youngest daughter has met the fate of being caught or slayed by a fish hunter from the upper world. Our race has a life span that happens to be the strongest in this world. Yet we can still meet an accident and die anytime. Just like your mother have." The King is now becoming strict with her.

Hoshimi then said back to him while the two Mer-Sheikah, the Six Maidens and her siblings watched. "Father! Please! I'm now almost thirteen years of age! I'm a teenager, not a small mermaid!"

"Don't you dare raise your voice to me like that! You're a Mer-Hylian Princess! As one, it's your responsibility to respect my rules and follow them, just like everyone else in this kingdom and in my ocean!"

Getting tired of what she's been hearing from her father for years, Hoshimi protested once more. "Please! Father! For once, listen to me!"

"Say no more!" He shouted, startling everyone in the throne room. "I'm not going to tolerate this behavior you're showing towards me and I'll never again, want to hear another word about you going up to the surface! Understood?"

She scowled silently for a moment then she scoffed and swam away from the throne room! "Be it, so!" She couldn't stand it any longer.

As she swam out of the room, Link, Vio, Blue, Red, and Zelda followed.

After excusing the Six Maidens to go back to what they're supposed to do, Thor sat back on his throne and sighed. Maybe he shouldn't be yelling at his daughter like that.

"Strong words as always, your majesty." Said Shrakah, bowing his head a bit. "I almost thought she'll keep rebelling you, verbally. All the way down to the words that can spill out hatred."

The King sighed once more and turned to him. "Oh, Shrakah. Do you think I'm being a little too hard on her?"

"Of course not." Said Keir.

Shrakah took a look at the boy next to him and then said to the now flustered King. "You see, your majesty, if I were to have a daughter like Hoshimi, I will easily show her who's the head of the family. I'll have nothing to do with all those visits to the surface, sea monsters, and etc. Absolutely nothing about it, my lord. I'll have her under complete control of an iron fist."

After listening to him, Thor then had something coming up in his mind. "You know what, Shrakah? You're absolutely right. I do believe that my daughter should have complete supervision."

"Yes, sir."

"What I need is someone to watch over her well-being and safety. By all means, keep her out of trouble."

"Yes, out of trouble at all times."

Then, he finished. "And you want to know? You and your brother are just the two for the job."

"Yes, yes my. . ." Then Shrakah blinked. "Wait! What did you just say, your majesty?"

The King blinked then repeated. "Your job is to keep watch on Hoshimi with Keir."

From there, Shrakah and Keir didn't know what else to say.

"Think you can manage it?" He asked them once more.

"Yes. . . sire." That's all he can say to him for now.

For starters, Shrakah and Keir were two brothers from a tribe known to be the Mer-Sheikah. Yes, they happen to be similar to the Sheikah tribe in Hyrule. But the thing is, they rarely interact with each other since King Thor constructed a ban to forbade anyone to ever go up the surface, which Hoshimi constantly ignores. Another thing about the Mer-Sheikah is that although they don't have fins like the Mer-Hylians, they do have the special capability to breathe and talk in the water of the ocean.

The reason why the two were working for the King is that in order to prove that they're worthy for their tribe, they should do so. The Mer-Sheikah have been friends of the Mer-Hylian Royal Family for generations.

Shrakah, as the eldest of the two, happens to be the one who's mostly calm and motivated with his duties. Even during rough times.

Keir on the other hand, may look like a slightly temper mental, mischief making Mer-Sheikah warrior in training, but underneath it all, he's slightly loyal with his brother. He's actually Shrakah's adopted brother. His parents abandoned him for unknown purposes when he's small and then, Shrakah took him in with his family. When it comes to fighting, he can be as over confident as Blue. But, still he's good kid.

While walking down the hallway with his brother after they're dismissed by the King, Keir asked. "I don't see why we're doing this. Keeping watch on Hoshimi, I meant."

"Well, I wasn't sure about this duty myself, either. But I do think it will have something to do with what Hoshimi is always doing during the day, though." His brother humbly replied.

Keir shrugged. "Well, I think I can't argue with that. But, what my mind says to me is that I should rather be doing combat practice and not playing ring around the rosie with a rather head strong princess."

After walking a bit, they came upon a window and Keir happened to saw Hoshimi swimming out into the garden with her bag and out somewhere beyond it. He also saw Link, Zelda, and the others swimming after her. "Oh! Brother! Come here!"

"What is it?" He took a look out the window and he saw the Royal Children swimming out. "Let's go and see what she's up to."

So, that's exactly what they did. They left the palace to hurry after them. Especially Hoshimi.

The Royal Mer-Hylian Children swam quite a long distance without any notice that Keir and Shrakah were following them. They happen to come across a stony cave. The front entrance was covered by a giant slab of wine red sea glass, there.

Once the two Mer-Sheikahs reached the area, they hid behind a giant rock to make sure they're not found.

Hoshimi moved the slab out of the way to uncover the entrance, then one by one, her siblings went inside first. After looking around to make sure no one is looking, she went inside and let the slab to close the entrance.

When the right time is right, the two brothers slid inside the cave before the entrance is closed up. Shrakah perfectly went into the cavern but, Keir happens to get stuck!

One of the boy's feet is stuck halfway because the slab happened to close in on it. He tried to move it out but, his foot didn't seem to budge. Then he grabbed his leg and began to heave and pull. Once his foot loosens, he accidentally flung himself upon his brother! "Oof!" He exclaimed loudly.

"Sssssh!" Shrakah shushed him to remind him about their plan.

Then, the two swam further into the cavern and hid among the shadowy side of the doorway inside. When they looked into what's beyond their hiding place, they gasped as their eyes widened.

On the other side of this cavern is a large rocky grotto with shelves from top to bottom. At the very top there's a hole that had the bright light shining from above the water. On each and every shelve, there are many knick knacks, treasures, antiques of any size, and collector's items here and there! All of this must have been collected and gathered by Hoshimi. This is her secret grotto for her hobby of pure curiosity and all of these items are from the upper world: Hyrule. It seemed that she's more curious about it than ever.

Sitting on a rock at the very bottom of the grotto is Hoshimi, polishing her newly found rupee. Next to her is the magic knife that Navi spoke to her about. While she's polishing her piece of Hylian Currency, she often thought about the things her father have said to her. They were often the things he kept reminding her about year after year. But, she didn't seem to have the heart to understand why he greatly despised Hylians.

Link and his brothers were constantly examining on what she has gathered so far while Zelda tries to comfort her sister. Her siblings happened to be the only ones who she can trust upon with her secrets about her unusual hobby.

Hoshimi finished polishing her rupee and shone it under the glistening light. Then she sighed. "I think. . . maybe father is right. I am a real shelled fish on never understanding him."

What she just said caught the attention of her brothers as they swam over to her.

"Are you sure you're all right, Hoshimi?" Red asked.

Link, Blue, and Vio were also concerned about her too. They don't think they're able to get over the sight about the argument between their sister and their father.

Zelda tried to cheer her by saying. "I'm sure he wasn't always like that, you know. You don't have to judge him too harshly. He's just too worried, that's all."

Hoshimi placed the rupee on one of the treasure chests filled with gold and replied to her. "Here's my problem, Zelda. I just don't feel like being a normal Mer-Hylian girl isn't easy for me. You see, you're a real princess on every whim and me, I just goof off, exploring forbidden ground and swimming up to the surface when it's like. . . like. . . calling out to me or. . . something. I guess I'm not getting anywhere close to earning the Pearl of Din at all."

"You shouldn't say those things." Said Link. "You are a princess of Hylia just like Zelda. But only in a different way, though. Nobody in this world has to be the exact same thing, you know. I really like the princess my younger sister is right now. Even though you're weak with Din's Fire, you are always there to help us out as we did for you."

Red agreed. "I also love the Hoshimi I'm sitting next to as well." He even nuzzled on to her shoulder. "I never want you to be too much of a girl that rather sticks to the ordinary concepts of Mer-Hylian life. I appreciate a sister who is always adventurous. If it weren't for you, saving me back at that shipwreck graveyard, I would have been shark bait. And if it wasn't for your ever-so-fabulous ocarina playing, Blue will never get in total touch with his hidden soft side."

Blue almost glared at his brother. "Oh yeah? Well, I will. . ." Then he sighed. "Well, you know, girl? He's right."

"If I have my own preference," Vio stated putting his hand on her shoulder. "I would have my sister the way she is. To tell you, the reason why father is strict with you is because he wants you to have superb safety. He just doesn't want you to be in any danger. The entire kingdom wants you to have a pure well-being."

Hoshimi sat silently at everything her siblings said to her and nodded. "I guess you're all right. But my only question is, how will I get him to change opinion about the upper world. I don't see why he calls it a dark and crucial place. How can Hyrule be dangerous if nothing has happened to us, Mer-Hylians so often?" But, to clear her mind out of that thought, she took out her pearl white ocarina and turned to Zelda. "May I, since I wasn't there?"

Her sister nodded and with that, Hoshimi began to play Naryu's Song on her ocarina for a while.

After she is done playing, everyone felt silent for a while at that moment. Then the silence was broken when a loud crashing noise distracts them! A few items fell to the seabed from one of the shelves. There's also something large that fell down as well.

All of the Royal Mer-Hylian Children turned around and looked over to find Keir all covered in sand and is surrounded by the things that fell down earlier. "Keir?" They exclaimed together.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Hoshimi.

Keir coughed on some of the sand while his brother, Shrakah came up to him to get him up. As he sat up, he asked the princess back. "Hoshimi! What. . . . What is all of this stuff?" He wasn't too surprised about all of the items she has gathered for one cavern.

"Well. . ." She mumbled a little uneasily. "It's. . . It's just a hobby I intend to have from time to time. These are all part of my collection."

The two brothers stared and Shrakah chuckled in a mocking sort of way. "Ha ha. I see. A collection is it?" Then he exclaimed. "What are you thinking, gathering all of these things? Your father will never approve of this place!"

"Wait! Wait!" Red pleaded. "You're not seriously planning to tell on him! Are you guys?"

"Yes, Shrakah." Said the ivory haired princess. "He doesn't have to know unless if you really want to tell him. He won't be able to understand me much if you do."

"But, he won't like this place." Said Keir. "Not one little bit."

"But. . . You see. . . He wouldn't. . . . I wouldn't. . . ." Hoshimi stammered, worried about what will happen if her father ever catches sight of her grotto. She figured that if her secret is revealed, then King Thor will hate her for the rest of her life. Not to mention disown her.

"Now, let's give this all a rest for now." Said Shrakah, taking her by the hand. "Do come with me, and I'll get servants to fix you up some kelp tea."

Before they can get any where closer to the entrance of the grotto, Hoshimi happened to notice an odd looking shadow overlapping the ocean floor. She looked up through the hole that's at the top of the grotto and saw it there. "What in the world?" She asked herself softly and skeptically. Then, with that, she swam to the entrance of the cavern.

After she swam away from the cave, Keir and Shrakah didn't happen to know of what's making the princess swim off now. "Hoshimi? What are you doing now?"

She did not answer but continued to swim upwards. She spotted an odd looking figure on the water's surface. Then she made her way up to the surface again.

Once she appeared out of the water, she found something new and exciting up ahead upon the sea! A large ship! Up in the sky above it, fireworks are popping, crackling, and shimmering! "Woah! How pretty!" She exclaimed with inspiration. "I didn't know anemones can be shone in the sky too. They're prettier than the ones I had in the royal garden!"

At that very same moment, Zelda, Link, Red, Blue, and Vio came up to the surface to see what their sister is gazing at. Then, "Ooooooh!" They exclaimed when they saw the ship.

Then, Shrakah and Keir also appeared. The second Mer-Sheikah brother asked her. "Hoshimi! Just what are you. . ." Then he saw the ship. "Oh! Great Goddesses of Hyrule!"

"Say. I wonder what's going on over there." Said Red, blinking with curiosity.

"I can't see from here." Said Blue.

"Let's get a closer look!" Said Hoshimi before swimming over to where the ship is sailing.

"Hey! Hey! Hoshimi! Get back here!" Shrakah shouted at her, urging her to come back.

"Wait up!" Said Link as he and the rest swam after her too.

"Oh. . . ." The Mer-Sheikah groaned realizing it's too late to stop them. _"If her father finds out about this, he's going to have an absolute fit!"_ He thought to himself.

The children have already met up with the great ship on the right side. Luckily, to get an even better look of the situation, they found a rock and climbed upon it to sit and watch.

"Are you quite sure about doing this, Hoshimi?" Asked Link. "Father will be very, very mad if we found out we're disobeying that ban again."

"Everything will be fine, Link." She answered before returning her attention to the ship.

From the rock they can still see most of what's going on. On the ship they found sailors dancing and making harmonious music as the fireworks continued to fly amongst the stars.

Red smiled and said. "Wow! That's quite a party they're having."

"Indeed, it is." Agreed Zelda.

"But, what's it for?" Asked Hoshimi.

After a short moment of watching, Hoshimi could have sworn she saw another thing that's new.

What she saw with her very own eyes while gasping is that she found a young Hylian boy who looked a lot like her four brothers, but he happens to be an age older than them. His looks were very different too. His hair color is in the slight mixture of golden blonde and ivory white, and his skin looked so pure in the creamy color that seemed lighter than milk. As he looked out into the sea, his eyes were platinum silver with slit pupils that can resemble those of a cat. He's wearing an ivory tunic over his white undershirt with a silver belt around his waist. His belt bore a golden royal-looking crest that had the Triforce engraved on it. He's also wearing a flowing white cape upon his shoulders. On his feet, he's wearing light gray colored boots. Lastly, on top of his head is a white hat that is similar to Link's when he and his brothers were in battle. At the ridge of it, where he's wearing it upon his head, it's decorated with a golden outline with a diamond right at the center!

From her perspective, Hoshimi has never seen a boy who's as beautiful as the one she's seeing right now. She even began to blush lightly.

"Um, Hoshimi?" Asked Blue. "Are you feeling all right?"

"She looks like she's staring at something that is completely new, right now." Said Vio shrugging as he looked at his sister.

"I think it's that boy up there." Said Zelda.

"What about that Hylian male?" Blue asked once more.

"Maybe it's not like she's ever seen one before." Said Red. "I think it's love~" He began in a sing-song voice.

"What? That's impossible!" His blue garbed brother retorted, knocking him into the water.

"Oh!"

"I don't know if we should snap her out of this trance or not." Link said, for he wasn't too sure about the situation.

Hoshimi didn't even hear or paid any heed to her siblings' concerns.

All the while, she longingly stared at the white garbed boy until then, "Hey! Hey! Hoshimi!" Said a familiar voice.

The princess snapped herself out of her trance and looked over. She saw Navi hovering around her head.

The fairy squealed. "Quite a show! Isn't it?"

"Ssssh!" Hoshimi shushed her. "Keep quiet, Navi! What if they're hearing you? Even from far away?" She said to her silently.

"Oh! I see! I see!" The fairy giggled. "There must be something so incredibly special, you can't take your eyes out of, I suppose!"

"Or someone, apparently." Blue muttered.

Then, Navi squealed with delight once more. "Well! Well! Well! What am I seeing with Hoshimi here?"

Quickly, she grabbed hold of the fairy and shushed once more at her. "Ssssh! Not so loud! He'll might hear you. That young boy in white, up there in that ship."

She even saw that the boy pulled out a blue ocarina and began playing a melody on it. As soon as she lets Navi fly free, she gazed at him longingly once again. "Haah. . . Don't you think he looks so beautiful, Navi?"

The little fairy examined the boy on the ship as he continued to play his ocarina. "I don't know. You really got me there, Princess. He does look kind of cute. But, too bad I'm only three inches high."

Hoshimi chuckled and allowed Navi to perch herself on her hand. "Oh! Come now. Even though you're pretty much on the smallest side of tiny, you can still hear him playing the Ocarina of Time!"

* * *

M.S.K: All right! Now, how is it so far? Yup, King Thor is pretty strict. And yes, we are having a newcomer in our story. Right now, I may not have much to say. But, all I can say for now is that I hope you like the chapter and do send a review or comment. So, I'll see you next time!

Shadow: Ready for more. . .?

M.S.K: (Spins around to see Link's shadow.) Uh. . . . Maybe later when I feel like so. Is that okay?

Shadow: Aw, come on~! I know you're begging for another massage from me!

M.S.K: Look! I'm telling you. You've already gave me one. So, now I'm not in the need for another one just yet.

Shadow: You're no fun! I hate being ignored! Play with me!

M.S.K: Not right now! There's still another chapter to be written! Please wait! (Runs off)

Shadow: (Starts chasing her) Come on~! I want to play with you!


	5. The Prince of Hyrule

M.S.K: (Peeks from behind a wall.) Is. . . Is he gone?

Link: Well, I think Shadow is already distracted with something else, right now. So, you're good.

M.S.K: Okay, okay. Now, sorry for the long hold. I was out of town for a few days to spend the arrival of springtime. Plus, I've been working on this along the way. It took me a while to finish this chapter. Yes, I do get to have a lot of fun from time to time. Well, enough about that. Now, Vio shall do the disclaimer before we can get rolling!

Vio: Thank you. Kaoru doesn't own Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, for it rightfully belongs to Nintendo. She doesn't even own Shining Link either for she has given permission to borrow him from a different author.

M.S.K: Thanks. I also hope you guys won't mind if Sheik from OoT is here too. Another thing is I have a song in this story which is one of the things I don't own for it. The song belongs to a Japanese artist named Anri, so I did the english fandub for it.

Shadow: Well! I think Kaoru-chan has done some excellant work today. But, I think that it's time for her and me to have some snuggling time.

M.S.K: Eeep!

Vio: Shadow, must you bother doing that to her all the time?

Shadow: (Wraps his arms around the authoress.) How can I resist a cutie such as her?

M.S.K: (Rolls her eyes.) Oh, we have so much work to be done. . .

* * *

Chapter 4: The Prince of Hyrule

Hoshimi looked up at the lovely Hylian boy in white from afar on the rock she sat. Yes, she really adored his figure. To her, there's no boy as beautiful as him in all of the Great Sea.

After he had finished playing his tune on his ocarina, Navi asked her. "You really liked him, don't you Hoshimi?"

She turned to the fairy, stared at her with wide eyes for a second, then blushed before saying. "Yes. . . You can say that."

Zelda, Link, Red, Blue, and Vio just sat on their spots on the rock they're sitting on, and stared at their sister. They can see that she is turning pink. Does she really thinks it's okay to fall in love with a Hylian even though she's different from him?

Blue asked her. "Hey, are you sick or something, Hoshimi?"

She shook her head for her answer.

Then, Hoshimi took out her ocarina and started to play a particular song that seemed unfamiliar to her siblings and the fairy.

After watching her playing a few measures of the tune, Link asked her. "Um, Hoshimi?"

"Hmm? Yes?" She asked him back.

"Is that song new? It's awfully nice."

"Really? I've been working on this one lately." She answered. "It is a new song."

"What's it called?" Asked Navi.

"Dolphin Ring."

"Sound's very pretty." Zelda complemented.

"Thank you." Then, Hoshimi began to continue playing her song. She's actually playing it in order to serenade the boy who's on the ship that's sailing slowly.

From the ship, the boy happens to be hearing the song from where he stood. "What a nostalgic melody." He spoke. "But, where is it coming from?"

In a while, a young man came up to the boy from behind. He looked almost similar to Shrakah, but slightly different, though. The things that were different are his hair, his eyes, and his clothes. His body suit is in the color of cornflower blue, his hair was blonde and it's a little longer than Shrakah's and it's tied into a partially single braid. Ruby red is the color of his eyes, unlike Shrakah's which are silver.

When he came upon the boy, he said to him. "Prince Shining Link. . ."

The boy, Shining Link, turned around to meet him and chuckled. "Sheik, how many times must I say it. Call me by my nickname: Ryuusei."

"But, your highness. You are a prince of Hyrule. Therefore, I can't do such a thing." Sheik said, bowing his head humbly. He happens to be the Prince's confidante as well.

"Come on, now. It doesn't really matter, does it?" The Prince said, smiling.

After a small pause, Sheik lowered his head and said. "All right, Ryuusei."

"Now, is there something you wish to tell me?"

"Yes. I only wanted to ask you, your highness, if you want to join the rest of the celebration of your birthday." He asked him.

Then, the Prince, Ryuusei sighed. "Oh, it can go on without me. I'm quite comfortable being on my own."

Sheik then said to him. "But, my lord. We will be wasting the honor of a special gift that's going to be given to you from the leader of the Gorons, this night."

Now that brought surprise to Ryuusei. "Huh? Really?"

"Of course. Come with me." The Sheikah said before taking him to a large object that's neatly wrapped by a cloth of leather.

All of the sailors gathered around it with the Ryuusei and Sheik.

"Oh! What is it?" The prince asked.

Sheik only smiled then clicked his fingers. He signaled one of the sailors to pull the leathery cloth away.

The cloth revealed the hidden identity of the present! It's a large white marble statue of Prince Shining Link, himself!

All of the ship's crew gasped with astonishment on how well built the statue is.

Ryuusei however, took a few steps towards the statue of himself for a closer look. "Wow. . . It's. . . . It's quite a wonder of a sculpture, Sheik. Did the Gorons really did this for me?"

"Of course." He replied "And I hope your highness doesn't mind me saying this. I would also consider it to be a 'wedding' gift."

Most of the sailors chuckled about what he means by saying that.

Ryuusei snorted and chuckled too. "Oh! Please, Sheik! Not at this moment. Believe me, we've been through this many times and right now it's not temporarily possible that I'll be falling in love with a princess or two around Hyrule."

As the prince walked over to the edge of the deck to gaze out into the ocean again, Sheik then sighed. "Forgive me for saying this, your highness. But, it's not just me who's been giving you this reminder for many days, you know. It's also the King and the Queen, your mother and father too. Including the kingdom of Hyrule as well. We are all counting on you to be happily settled down with the one who you'll be choosing to marry. As a future King, which you're going to be one day."

While listening to their conversation, even from far away, Hoshimi's blush deepened a bit. Her heartbeat is even going up to speed a little. _"He's going to be future King and in order to be so, he's going to need a queen?"_ She thought to herself.

Ryuusei replied to his confidante slowly. "Well, I have been trying to search for the 'perfect one'. But it's just that. . . . Oh. . . I just haven't find the right one who I'm interested in yet."

"Well, I suppose it will just take some time. You ought to give yourself patience before you find the one you'll love. I'm sure there's one who will be very interested in a warrior such as yourself."

"There's no need to be worried about that, Sheik. I will find one surely. Someone who will have. . . . like how will you say. . . Someone who has the same spirit, courage, and grace as the Three Goddesses of Hyrule." The Prince answered.

Then, this made Hoshimi have another thought in her mind as she began to smile for she's beginning to take a strong liking to Shining Link; or Ryuusei. _"Ah, if only I were a part of his world, I will be very interested in him. Hopefully at that, he'll be interested in someone like me."_

As Ryuusei continued to scan throughout the blue waters that are shimmering under the light of the full moon, he then gasped a bit. "Oh!" He happened to catch a slight glimpse of Hoshimi's tail as she dove into the water with Navi and her siblings, which they have done already.

"Hmm? What's making you feel surprised, your highness?" Asked Sheik.

"I. . . I could have sworn I just saw a young mer-hylian mermaid jumping into the sea from that rock over there. Long, long ago, when I was still small, my mother will always tell me stories about those fascinating creatures who hid their existence in the Great Sea. Mer-Hylians. From then onwards, as I continued to grow up, I always keep my wish to meet one of them in person. Although I'm away from my childhood days, I still believe in them." He said.

"A mer-hylian female, eh?" Sheik looked over but, he can see no sign. "Huh. Well, I believe you must be seeing things, your highness. Perhaps the excitement of returning to Hyrule has already settled in." He said, shrugging. "I highly doubt that they do exist but, I don't think it's possible for one to be seen."

"What? But, I just saw a fish tail that is quite bigger than one of a normal fish. I'm sure I saw one." The Prince said again.

But, before anything else can happen, a defining rumble was heard in the sky. It was thunder. The starry night sky was already shrouded with dark and sinister looking storm clouds. The bright moon was no where to be seen. Thunder began to roar loudly and lightning shone a bit through the clouds. Seagulls were making exclaiming cries, warning each other of something dark, creeping in fast. Most of them are flying away. The wind began to blow stronger through the sails of the ship. Rain is starting to fall and the waves are becoming choppy in the sea! All of this meant one thing!

"A storm is coming and it's going to be a big one!" Shouted the ship's captain. "Everyone! All hands on deck! Secure the riggin'!"

As all of the sailors are scrambling to do whatever means to protect the ship, Ryuusei and Sheik are beginning to take notice too! The ship is in for a big, violent maelstrom!

With no time to lose, Ryuusei ran over to see if there's anything he can do to help the sailors!

From there, the ocean's waters became more wilder and darkness shrouded the sea and the sky! Thunder boomed and lightning struck through the clouds. Rain is pouring down, making the ship's situation even worst and even more impossible to hold together! It may not make it! The sailors are even struggling! Including the prince! The wind has already gotten so strong, tying up the sails is becoming a difficult task! The whole thing might go under within minutes!

While bracing themselves through the uncharted waters, Hoshimi, Navi, Link, Zelda, Vio, Blue, and Red were trying to keep themselves safely afloat amongst the storm. Every once in a while, they're swimming among the water's surface. Keir and Shrakah were there with them.

However, Hoshimi is feeling more worried about the shining prince more than anything else. "Guys! Guys! The Prince's ship is in deep trouble! We mustn't leave it yet!"

Link then said to her, trying to hold her safely with Vio's help. "But, Hoshimi! It's for your own good! We can't stay out here in the storm! It's way too perilous!"

"Our father wouldn't like that, and neither would the Six Maidens!" Added Vio.

"We must return to the palace!" Said Shrakah.

"No! Not yet!" Cried the youngest princess again.

Another lightning bolt flashed and thunder roared louder than before! The ship rocked vigorously and the sailors there are having more difficulty securing it! The storm is becoming so violent, only a few them are forcing themselves to give up. Although for now, Ryuusei is helping out with the captain in any which way, their ship is now like a cork, bobbing up and down helplessly on the Great Sea!

In a short while, an even bigger bolt of lightning flashed upon the main mast, setting it on fire! Now, it's not only the storm the ship has to deal with, it's the mast! But, surely there will be enough rain to put it out.

Hoshimi and her siblings look on helplessly as the main mast continued to burn.

Then, she happens to see a giant rock looming over before the ship. _"Uh oh!"_ She can tell that they're going to run into it in seconds! "Turn the boat! You're going to crash!" She shouted out, hoping that they'll hear her. "Turn the ship!"

Link held her with his brothers, telling her. "They won't be able to hear you!"

"They might run into it anyway!" Blue said. "In a moment, they'll be sleeping with the fishes. The dead ones, I mean."

"Blue!" Hoshimi hollered.

Well, Ryuusei caught sight of the rock, himself. Then he turned around, ran to the deck and cried out. "Everyone! Brace yourselves!"

At that moment, the ship ran into the rocks! Afterwards, the ship began to turn over to the right side! Everyone was thrown overboard!

"Guys! The Prince will surely die if we don't do something fast!" Hoshimi exclaimed again. She tried to struggle in order to swim over to the ship.

"No! You mustn't!" Said Vio, holding her, still.

A life boat was tossed unto the sea to rescue everyone. Sheik, Ryuusei, and most of the crew were safe on the boat. Then, a small scream was heard.

"Kyaah!"

He looked up and saw a little girl in sailor's clothes trapped among the wreckage of the main mast! Fire was flickering everywhere! It must have fallen on to the the deck when the ship crashed and the flames are surrounding her in every corner, blocking her chances of escaping!

"Help my daughter!" Cried a sailor who happens to be the girl's father.

"Oh no!" Ryuusei wasted no time by jumping into the water, swam over to the ship and climbed aboard to save the child. Once he found her, he leapt over the circle of fire and quickly grabbed her. "Come on!" He took over to an area where there's no fire, fortunately, and went over to the railing so that he and the girl can get out of there safely.

Suddenly, a broken plank of wood flew and hit Ryuusei on the back of his head, knocking him unconscious! "Gah!" This made him bend over with the child around his arm, making him let her go and fall into the ocean.

When the little girl fell into the water, she quickly swam over the life boat where her father is waiting for her.

Once she's safe and sound, Sheik looked up to see if Ryuusei is all right. But, he's still unconscious.

Then, the whole ship began to turn over and start sinking into the sea!

All of those who are on the life boat couldn't even tell if the Prince is alive or dead!

From there, Hoshimi can't just stand by and let him perish into his watery grave! So, she dove into the water and swam over to where the ship is sinking.

"Princess! What are you doing?" Shouted Shrakah, but it's too late for him to stop her.

When Hoshimi found the ship, she looked around to see if she can find Ryuusei. Suddenly, she found a speck of white, floating downwards through the water. "Oh!" That's the Prince!

She swam over to him and caught him safely. "Got you!" Then she quickly swam up to the surface to give him air. She even tried patting his face to make sure he's still alive. "Come on! Wake up!" Then she had another thing in mind. She must find a beach and put him there to rest once the storm dies out.

Hours have passed and the storm was finally gone. The ocean has calmed down and it's already a few minutes until sunrise.

Hoshimi is about a few inches toward a soft patch of sand on the beach. After laying the still unconscious prince on to the sand, she rested her head on his chest for she was tired after braving through the cold, rough currents of the stormy sea. "Phew! Oh, my. . ."

After resting a bit, she looked upon him while sitting next to his body.

His clothes are all soaked and so was his face and hair. His eyes were still closed. The only thing that's missing from him is his gold encrusted white hat.

She's practically worried right now. She didn't want him to be dead either. "Fair Prince, are you all right, now?" She asked but, received no answer.

She moved a few strands of his ivory blonde bangs to one side and caressed his smooth cheeks. They're still a bit warm under her touch, but she still can't tell if he's still alive, though. _"Oh dear, great Goddesses of Hyrule. Please let him be alive."_

In a while, Navi flew in from the sea to join Hoshimi.

The princess asked the fairy. "Is. . . Is he dead, Navi?"

The fairy flew around his head to see if her light will be able to relieve him. But, it seemed that it didn't work. "It's hard to tell." She answered her before flying on to his chest. "Now, let's have a look right here." She placed her small ear on to it to listen for something.

"What are you listening for?"

"A pulse."

After a few seconds, the fairy sighed as she picked herself up. "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't think I can make out a beat or two."

But, Hoshimi had already saw a sign. "No, Navi! Look here! He's breathing, now! He's alive! I know it!" She then gently caressed her hand upon his hair. It now feels like home spun wool from a lamb. _"In the name of Great Din, he's so delicate. He's even more beautiful up close."_ She thought with delight.

While waiting for the morning sun to show its light, she began to sing her new song. _"~Ever since that night ago, I always dream about you. Seeing your face is what's truly new. Under each night's moonlight, I see a bright star. I've hung every wish I made from afar. The gentle roars of waves are the sounds I only hear. Sometimes, it's so strange you're somehow here. But, do hear my voice. It's ringing for your heart. Do promise me we're one and we shall never part.~"_

In a short moment, Shrakah, Keir, Link, Zelda, and the other three Princes were washed up on to one smooth rock. After they woke up and saw Hoshimi singing, they couldn't believe what they're seeing!

She continued to sing. _"~ Ah. . . Don't you know that it's so slightly __rare, I turn my head to one side, then I know you are right here next to me. Oh, this awkward heartbeat I somehow felt, this jumpy skip, it's almost like __a door that leads me to say this plead.~"_

"Ah!" Exclaimed Zelda with wonder.

"Why, Hoshimi. . ." Was all that Link could say while Red is blushing beside him, as they gazed at the situation.

"Oh, great Farore. Did she. . . Actually. . . . Rescued him. . .?" Asked Blue with widened eyes to his disbelief.

"It looks like so." Answered Vio for he is equally surprised

Shrakah and Keir are also witnessing the scene too. Keir had his lower jaw dropped open while staring is all that his foster brother can do.

The only one who is adoring the scene is Navi.

Then, as the sun rose and peeked it's light through the clouds, Hoshimi finished her snippet of her song, awaiting for her prince to regain consciousness. _"~Please, marry me! A Dolphin Ring is one simple gift you'd give me for your return of affection to me. I've wiped my tears away, so please do take my hand. With no words alone, your hand wrapped in mine is all I truly need.~"_

As she sang her words, Ryuusei regained his consciousness thanks to the sunlight, and slowly opened his eyes. He's even seeing her, bit by bit. He even felt his hand being held gently by his.

Hoshimi gasped softly. She's relieved to see that he's awake!

Before she can embrace him again and before he can get a chance to see her with clear vision, a call was heard. "Ryuusei! Ryuusei! Your Highness!"

After releasing his hand, Hoshimi scooted over to the shoreline and quickly dove into the water to swim away.

While the Prince was slowly sitting up, Sheik, the one who called out earlier came and helped him up. "There you are!" He panted. "You almost scared me! I thought you have drowned into the ocean since the storm, but it seemed that the ocean did you a favor and brought you to shore. The sailor wanted me to tell you that he has thanked you for saving his daughter."

Ryuusei didn't answer him for a bit, but just stood on his spot and looked around the shoreline to see if he can find the person who just sang to him. He didn't even know that it was Hoshimi, though. "Sheik. For a moment, I thought I drowned. But, a girl just. . . saved me. . ."

"A girl?" Asked the Sheikah.

"Yes. . ." He answered. "She rescued me from the sea and then, she was singing to me. I've never heard anything so pure and beautiful."

As he was trying to stand on his legs, they began to wobble a bit, causing him to fall backwards upon Sheik.

The Sheikah caught him and said while carrying him. "Right. Now, let's get you to somewhere we can find help. I do believe that seeing a mirage on the beach while gaining your consciousness back."

From the rock where she was hiding with her siblings and confidantes, Hoshimi watched her newly found love taken out to the remote village that lies near the beach. _"Prince Shining Link, I believe I'll be seeing you soon. Hopefully, I'll find you again."_ Her mind thought again.

Zelda then tapped her on the shoulder, getting her attention. "Hoshimi, you've saved his life. Why didn't you just stay there with him until he sees you?"

Hoshimi sighed. "Oh, I don't think I can, Zelda. Because, as soon as he catches one slight sight of my tail, he'll surely get frightened." Then, she blushed after she made her answer.

"I know what you mean." She said back in agreement.

Red then said to his sister. "You know, Hoshimi? You gave me quite a scare since that ship went down. I was frightened half to death. Me, Blue, Green, and Vio have been searching for you all night!"

"I'm sorry Red." The Princess said to him. "But, I have to save the Prince."

"Don't tell me that you're now head over heels for him!" Blue huffed. "You know what Father just said! Hylians and Mer-hylians don't go together!"

Vio thought over this carefully and said. "Now, wait a minute, Blue! Our father isn't going to find out about Hoshimi's doings."

"What is it, Vio?" Asked Link.

"Allow me to explain." He said. "We're going to hide all of this, keep it as a solid secret and pretend that it never happened." He turned to his ivory haired sister and instructed her. "Hoshimi, you must never say a single thing about this Prince. So, whatever you do, don't mention his name around the Palace."

"Okay." That's all she can say for an answer.

Then, the purple tailed prince turned to the two Mer-Sheikah brothers. "Shrakah and Keir, you two are to not tell a single living soul about this event in our household. So, don't give it away to either the Maidens or Father."

"O. . . Okay." Said Keir.

Red began to smile for he is agreeing with his brothers plan too. "Wow! I'm so moved! This will be a solid, top secret plan, yet! Vio is so smart!"

"Do you obviously think that my head is filled with warm sea mist?" He asked him back with his eyebrow shifted upwards.

Shrakah and Keir were giving the plan some thought, though.

"I don't know if we should do this. But, I personally can't imagine how enraged the King will be if we give out the word." Said the eldest one.

"I say that we should _definitely_ forget that this thing had ever happened right now. I don't think that the King should know. Everything will be held together in one un-cracked oyster shell if we never tell a word about it." Said Keir.

Shrakah stayed silent for a bit after hearing what his brother said and sighed. "Well, I don't know, Keir. I just don't know. . ."

Hoshimi continued to watch Sheik carrying her prince to the village as she sang the finale of her song, as the waves splashed upon the rock she's on. _"~Please, marry me! Please, marry me! Hopefully, we'll both be held into one warm embrace! I will do! Yes! I will do! Our strong love is the cure to dry my tears without a trace! Yes! I will do. . . .~"_

Yes, she is truly in love with the Prince of Hyrule, despite the fact that she's born from a different world.

One moment later, from behind another rock that's about a distance from Hoshimi's, Shadow Link is again spying on her. He's been doing this for a long while because he's upon orders from Ganondorf. He even smirked at what Hoshimi has been doing since the storm and sunrise. "Well, well, well! What am I seeing here!" He is practically amused about Hoshimi's feelings toward Ryuusei. "This is very enjoyable to see!"

He formed another murky purple orb of shadows again and showed Hoshimi to Ganondorf. "My lord! Please have a look at what I just saw! Does this bring entertainment for you?"

From inside his room in his fortress, Ganondorf looked at what Shadow Link is showing him through the pearl. After seeing Hoshimi's gaze at the Prince, he began to chuckle loudly. "Ha ha ha! I don't believe it! This _is_ extremely entertaining! I never knew that you would show me this while you're doing your job, Shadow Link! Ha ha!"

Shadow Link then sighed irritably at his master's laughter and asked. "Do you think that this will be an accompaniment to our plan, my lord?"

Ganondorf calmed himself from laughing. "Oh, what else can I say, my boy! Of course it does! I just can't get over the fact that our precious princess is in love with a Hylian boy! Well, not just any simple Hylian boy, obviously. Shining Link! The Prince of Hyrule! Ha ha! Thor will definitely be surprised about this."

There is a short pause before Shadow said. "Well, I'm assuming for now, I should still keep watch on her since the moment we want isn't occurring just yet, my lord."

"You're certainly right, my shadow warrior." Agreed the wizard. "You should keep a rather good watch on her until the time is right. But soon, she'll slowly come to us and put our plan into motion. Very soon, that overly proud Thor will fall before my feet, begging for mercy, and from there, Hyrule and Hylia will be mine!"

Those words then made Shadow Link blink and said to him. "Oh! Don't forget me too, master. Do not forget that we have a deal."

Ganondorf smirked. "Of course! The deal! Of course! Once I have the power to rule both kingdoms, I'll have you as my heir for the kingdom we'll soon be constructing. At that time, you can have Princess Hoshimi if you wish."

"You really mean it, my lord?" Shadow Link asked with an excited, yet sinister grin on his face.

"Oh, yes! I truly think that you deserve something that will interest your likings! You will soon win Thor's youngest daughter." Said the wizard, grinning evilly. "She will then be a charming princess for my kingdom of darkness! Ha ha ha ha!"

While his master continued to laugh darkly, Shadow Link's grin began to spread for that he will surely have Hoshimi to himself.

* * *

Link: Wow! I wonder how the King of the ocean would feel about this.

M.S.K: Well, we don't know for sure until further onwards.

Vio: All right. Now, my question for you is what took you so long for you to update this?

M.S.K: I shall answer that later. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I do. So, stay tuned for the next one!

Vio: Your answer?

M.S.K: Oh! It's a special place where I've been ever since I was only five years of age. I can never forget that time since I finally get the chance to visit that place again. I was there because it's been so long since my last visit.

Red: Really?

Vio: What's that place called?

M.S.K: (Giggles) Well, it's known to be the place where Dreams Come True! (Starts singing softly) A dream. . . is a wish your heart makes. . .

Everyone: (Just stares at the authoress singing to herself.)


	6. Hoshimi's Feelings and Shrakah's Concern

Everyone: (Waiting for the authoress to arrive)

Blue: Augh! How long is she going to take?

M.S.K: (Opens the door and enters) Whew! Finally I've got it done after. . .

Blue: Where have you been by the sake of Farore?

M.S.K: Sorry, I just got held up by a few things. Including on some thinking time on what I'll do after this story. I know it's a little early to be thinking about it, but it often strikes my head. And you don't need to be this impatient, you know. Do you remember what Vio said about that?

Blue: Well, excuuuuuuuuuuse me, Kaoru!

Zelda, Link, Vio, & Red: Blue!

M.S.K: (Sighs) Well, anyway. Sorry to keep you waiting. What kept me is what I said earlier. Plus, I've been visiting with a few people from another show almost everyday. They're very hillarious too. You just can't keep them away from you. Can't you? I'll tell you who they are later. Well, yeah and I got this chapter finally updated! Again, sorry to make you all worry. So, Zelda?

Zelda: Of course. Kaoru doesn't own Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. Only her OC. Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo.

M.S.K: Arigatou Zelda.

Red: So, uh. Who are the people who kept you from writing?

M.S.K: Well, I'll tell you later.

Blue: Humph!

* * *

Chapter 5: Hoshimi's Feelings and Shrakah's Concern

That evening, Shining Link's dream has turned into a rather strange one. He had it ever since he fell asleep in the library of his castle. He has already recovered from being drenched with sea water from the storm during the afternoon. He even told his father and mother: King Pheobus and Queen Raina, about what happened during and after the maelstrom. Of course, neither of them were too sure if that really happened.

In his dream, he found himself standing alone on the beach that's near his home. It was slightly misty and it's practically cold because it's in the night. The salty wind blew through him from across the sea as the waves roared as they move inward and outward. Up in the sky, the chilling moonlight shone brightly on the water.

_"Where am I?"_ He asked himself. Then, in a short moment, he heard the same exact song he heard when he was lying on the shore in the same morning he was found by Sheik.

_"~Please, marry me! A Dolphin Ring is one simple gift you'd give me for your return of affection to me. I've wiped my tears away, so please do take my hand. With no words alone, your hand wrapped in mine is all I truly need.~"_

He hurried himself over to where the song is coming from and finally as he stopped, he couldn't believe at what he saw. _"Oh!"_ By recognizing the color and glittery scales he caught a glimpse of before, he's seeing Hoshimi, although he doesn't know her. He's seeing her sitting on a rock, surrounded by the ocean water on the beach line, singing her song. _"In the name of fair Naryu, I've never seen anyone so beautiful. . ."_ He whispered to himself. Then he decided to move closer to her.

When the mer-hylian mermaid finished her song, she turned her head towards the Prince and smiled.

He stopped halfway through the water as he gazes at her aquamarine eyes. "Are. . . Are you the one who. . ."

Before he can say another word or two, she said to him. "I've been expecting to see you again. . . . Prince Shining Link. . ."

He wanted to say something to her, but it seemed that he can't figure out what.

From there, the Prince woke up from his dream with wide eyes. "Ah!" He sat up on his bed and rubbed his eyes. "It's that dream again." Then he blinked. "Was I. . . dreaming about a mer-hylian princess?" He asked himself. "That voice has been inside my mind ever since the afternoon." Then, he got his Ocarina of Time and start to play the first few measures of the song he heard in his dream. After that, he went out to the wide window of his room and stared out into the ocean that's up ahead. "No matter where she is, I have to find her." He said to himself.

In Hylia, two weeks have gone by and things were apparently quiet around the Royal Palace. On this morning, just like any other morning, the Six Maidens swam over to the door of Hoshimi's bedroom to wake her up for the day as usual.

The Blue Maiden knocked on it first. But, when she did so, she received no answer. As she knocked the second time, she called. "Lady Hoshimi? Are you inside?"

Then, all of the maidens decided to open the door. As they did, they found that the Princess is not in her bed. "Oh!"

"We got to look for her." Said the Red Maiden. "We can't have her missing breakfast, and I do know where she is."

They all agreed and they headed through the hallway to one particular room.

That room is the Royal Rehearsal room and everyone in the palace uses it to practice and rehearse for several occasions. Such as ceremonies. The Maidens decided to check in that room for they've known that Hoshimi will often go there to do her ocarina playing or dancing.

They're all there together at the door way and the Blue Maiden slowly opened the door. Once she did so, she and the maidens found Hoshimi water dancing around the room, playing her ocarina whole heartedly.

At first, the Maidens just stared at her, wondering why she's playing her ocarina so happily on this morning.

But, to break this momentary silence, Blue Maiden said to the princess. "Um, Hoshimi, darling. Pardon us for interrupting you, but we think it's time to put your practice to a hold because you're about to miss breakfast with Prince Link and the others."

Gradually, Hoshimi stopped her ocarina playing and turned to the Maidens. "Oh, yes. And good morning to you all as well." That's all she's able to say because, she's in deep delight right now. She's even humming her Dolphin Ring song as she swam over to the doorway.

"Goodness, what's got into her, this morning?" Asked the Green Maiden.

The others are wondering the same thing until the White Maiden asked Hoshimi. "Milady, are you feeling well?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?" She said to them with a bright smile.

"Well, it's very unusual to find you here in the morning, dancing all by yourself and playing your ocarina. No wonder you're such a wonderful dancer." Said the Yellow Maiden.

"Why thanks." Chuckled Hoshimi. "I was dancing because I was thinking about Shining Link." Then, that snapped her mind. "Ack!"_ "Oh dear! What am I thinking! I almost forgotten about Vio's plan to help me hide my secret!"_ She thought, worrying a bit.

The Maidens heard a only a small bit of those words. "You're thinking about who?" They all asked in unison.

Then, Hoshimi said, almost hesitantly. "Uh. . . Uh. . . What I'm saying is. . . Um, Navi's shining wings. Ha, ha. Yeah, I always loved Navi's wings, Blue Maiden."

They all blinked.

Then, Blue Maiden replied. "Oh, well, I'll let her know that. It's nice of you to say such a thing for my fairy."

"Oh! That's good to hear." The Princess answered back. _"Whew! By Din's name, I thought they would've heard me by now. But, that is a quick recovery I made! Man! That was close!" _Her mind spoke again. "Well, I'm off to the dining hall!" She said with glee while the maidens were still staring at her odd behavior.

It wasn't too long when Hoshimi almost ran into her father. "Hmm? Ah."

The King blinked oddly at his daughter. "Oh."

"Lovely morning, father!" She said, winking at him.

"Oh, well. . . Quite a morning it is for me too." Well, that's all he could say while watching her swimming off, singing to herself.

The hall filled with silence until the Red Maiden commented. "Oh, it looks like she's completely hooked. By something rather enchanting, I mean."

"Huh?" Asked the King. "What do you mean by that? What's making her swim like that all of a sudden."

Well apparently, the Yellow Maiden knows one thing that's making her do such things. "To me, it's quite obvious that your daughter happens to be in love with someone, your majesty."

King Thor blinked again. "Oh? Hoshimi? My youngest daughter? In love with somebody? I wonder who it is."

Later on, after breakfast, the Royal Children decided to hang out around a remote coral reef that's not too far from the kingdom. Shrakah and Keir are also there with them.

As usual, Link and Blue are sparring while Vio is reading another book while lying against a smooth rock, surrounded by his favorite species of purple coral. Red, however is scouting around the seabed for any nice looking sea shells while Zelda is trying to find some oyster pearls for her collection.

Keir is muttering to himself about what has been going on since after the day Hoshimi rescued Shining Link. "Okay. . . Okay. . . Let's take it slowly. Two weeks passed and so far, everything is steady. The King, himself hasn't known a single thing about that situation. Neither does the maidens. . ." But, he happens to feel a tingle of suspense building up in him. "Oh! How are we going to keep it to ourselves for so long? If Hoshimi would have never been there, this won't be happening!"

"Just remain calm, Keir." His brother told him. "We both know that we should have left the situation alone. But, we know that it's hard for the princess to do so. So, it's best to never breathe a word about it to his Majesty."

"But, I can't take it!" He complained again.

As for Hoshimi, she's now lying on a bed rock, with a lei of kelp blossoms around the crown of her head. While sighing lovingly, she kept thinking about the Hylian Prince every minute or two or more. She even blushed too. In her hands, she has a bright red kelp blossom she plucked earlier. While waving her tail fins from side to side, she plucked the petals one by one, constantly repeating. "Ryuusei loves me. . . Ryuusei loves me not. . ." Until, on the last petal, she gasped. "Oh! Ryuusei loves me! Yes!"

She got up from her bed rock and happily swam around Vio twice, gave Red a kiss on the cheek, and Zelda a hug. Next, she paused Link and Blue's spar battle to dance around with them, giggling happily! "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it all along!"

"Hoshimi! Stop it! You're embarrassing me!" Blue said to her. After she lets him go, he muttered. "Little sisters. . ."

The white tailed mermaid continued to frolic and giggle with delight until Shrakah announced. "Hoshimi, Milady. We need to talk, so pause your love talking for a moment, please."

But, she pouted. "Aww! Come on, Shrakah! It's too early and too nice of a day to talk about my magic right now! Plus, there's at least a good chance for me to see that shining prince again!"

"Your magic is not what I'm going to bring up." Said the Mer-Sheikah.

"And you're not actually planning to tell him who you are. Are you? You can't be serious about that, Princess." Asked Keir.

"Of course I am." She replied. "I'm visiting him late, tonight. Plus, I ought to meet with Navi too at that time. She does know where he's located."

"Our father will forbid that if it were to ever happen, you know!" Said Blue.

As Shrakah continued to try and protest to her plan, the only thing the rest of her siblings can do is to sit on their spots and watch her odd behavior getting the best of her.

Then, Vio said, closing his book. "All right. Now, Hoshimi. Let's not beat around the coral bush. We know that you are developing a crush with someone from the upper world. But, it's time right now to focus on more important issues. Even though, you are sticking to the plan of keeping this a secret."

But, Hoshimi is hardly hearing a word he and her confidante are saying. She's still in deep thought on how to meet up with the prince once more. It seemed that keeping it to herself isn't easy. "First, I'll swim up to beach where his castle is, then Navi will hover around him to lead him to the seashore and from there, I'll. . ."

Finally, Shrakah got her attention by exclaiming, "Yes, Hoshimi! I like your plan. I like everything about it, but the thing is, your true home is here! Hylia of the Great Sea, where your father, King Thor rules! Just like every fish, mollusk, mammal, coral, and crustacean!"

Hoshimi paused in order to listen.

"Now look. We know that you are very interested in him. But, as a Mer-Sheikah warrior, hired by his majesty, it's my responsibility to assure to him that you have a sustainable well-being. Me and my brother are duty bound to help you out of any danger for his majesty." He said to her.

"But, Shrakah. I can take care of myself. There's absolutely no need for father to be so worried about me. I'll just keep on giving my magic the strength it truly needs." She said back to him.

"Hoshimi." The Mer-Sheikah said sternly. "The biggest concern the King is having already is about you and going up to the surface numerous times. You have to keep in mind that this kingdom has an ultimately strict ban upon it. A Mer-Hylian must never interact with a Hylian. Besides, people like that Prince are mostly the ones who cannot be trusted. Instead of socializing with us, they'll only prefer to hunt us for various reasons. Such as for the scales of your tails. Especially the shiny ones. That way they'll make profit with them."

"Oh, come on. We'll just have to explain to father that this shimmering Prince will never do such a thing like that and I'm sure that his culture must have the same customs as we have. Probably. . ." She tried saying.

"That's simply ridiculous!" Said Keir. "There's no way that this can be explained to him. That Prince may just be another Hylian who will be able to use a harpoon."

"Well, I highly doubt that. I'm never afraid of people like those." She said again, boldly.

Shrakah sighed. "Princess, listen. Your father is very clear on this and the law has been issued. No Mer-Hylian should engage contact with a Hylian."

Then, the Princess pleaded with him. "But, Shrakah! Father doesn't even know a single thing about him than I do."

"It still doesn't matter and don't argue with me." He said calmly. "The Ocean World is where you are born and where you rightfully belong. At that, going up to the surface more than once will lead you to no good. Remember the promise you made with your father about the Pearl of Din?"

Hoshimi paused. Then she said. "Well. . . . yes. . . but. . ."

"Good. Now, no more talk about the Prince or the Hylian world for today. We're going to have another peaceful night in the sea later on. It's going to be full-moon tonight." Then, Shrakah placed his hands upon her shoulders. "I'm sure that once you're able to dance like every usual full-moon night, your sparkling scales will please his majesty. So, be happy for who you are and where you're living." Then he turned around and got Keir over because they're going to the village of the kingdom for something.

Now, from there, Hoshimi didn't have anything else to say. She slowly sat down on the sea floor with all of Shrakah's words filling up her mind. As she looked up through the shimmering waters of the surface, she happened to see Shining Link's face through the vision of her own eyes. Surely her father and confidante mean well but she doesn't have the heart to forget the person who took her heart on wings from the moment she saved him from danger. She can't deny the fact that she wanted to show him her feelings for him, if she ever gets the chance to see him again. _"If only I can change the way I am. . ."_ She thought, looking down at her fish tail. Then she sighed. _"Oh. . . That's impossible. I can't live with him in the Hylian world like this. Maybe he's right. Perhaps Hylians and Mer-Hylians are practically too different from one another."_

Then her thoughts were put to hold when Red came up to her and whispered something into her ear. After listening to him, her smile began to broaden up a bit. To her, Red happens to be the best person in her family who's able to cheer her up besides Zelda and Link.

After Hoshimi got up, Red got his brothers and sister together and they swam off to where he's planning to take them.

Moments later, Keir and Shrakah were sitting on a stony bench near a bubbly fountain in the middle of the village. They were talking about the talk that they had with Hoshimi.

"You are a motivational speaker, you know brother." Said Keir.

Shrakah nodded. "Yes, I know. But, sometimes I really think that someone should tie that Princess' fins down whenever she's frolicking like that, earlier."

The two were enjoying their moment until a call came out through the noises of chattering from the other villagers. "Shrakah! Keir!"

They both bolted up and looked around. Then they found the Blue Maiden swimming frantically to them.

"Oh! Shrakah! Keir!" She spoke under her breath. She's been swimming for quite a while because she's been trying to find them around a big village. "There you are!" She gasped again as she came up to them. "I've been searching everywhere! I have an urgent message to you from his majesty!"

"A message?" Asked Keir.

"From the King?" Shrakah asked next.

"Yes! Yes!" The maiden said hesitantly. "He wants you to report to the throne room immediately! He said that there's something about Lady Hoshimi!" After that, she quickly swam off.

There's a short pause until the two Mer-Sheikahs looked at each other with widened eyes, gasping. "His. . . His majesty knows!" With no time to lose, they quickly swim off to see the King.

In the throne room, King Thor is busy thinking with a jolly looking grin about what the Yellow Maiden said about his daughter. "Heh, heh. Well now. Who could that boy be? I do wonder if he's worthy enough to make an honest bride of my youngest daughter?"

It wasn't too long when he saw Shrakah and Keir at the door way to his throne room. "Oh! Good timing. Well, do come in, Shrakah. Keir."

Now, the two paused first. Then they slowly walked down to meet his throne. They both kneel down and said. "Yes, your majesty? What have you called us here for?"

Thor cleared his throat and asked them. "Now, Shrakah and Keir. I've summoned you both here because I'm questioning about Hoshimi. Did you two by any chance have seen her acting strange, lately this morning?"

"Acting strange, you say?" The eldest Mer-Sheikah

"Well, you know. Seeing her, moaning and sighing around. Daydreaming, playing her ocarina, singing, and dancing?" The King stated again. "You two wouldn't have the chance to notice that, haven't you?"

Shrakah stopped to think until he shrugged. "Well, I do happen to see her doing those things. But. . Well . ."

The King then smirked slyly all of a sudden. "Shrakah. . ."

"Yes. . .Sire?" He asked nervously. Although he's never been nervous lately in his life.

Thor gestured him to come closer and he did while Keir followed. Then he said. "I know that you're hiding something."

"Hiding something?"

"About Hoshimi?"

"Ho. . . Hoshimi? What about her?" Both brothers asked in unison again.

"Is she. . . in love. . . with someone?" The King's smirked widened.

After a small pause of tension, Keir then started. "Okay! Okay! It's true! She is in love! But, not with someone of this kingdom! You see, your majesty! We tried to keep her under control but, she wouldn't listen to us! Not at all! Brother and I tried to tell her to keep away from Hylians! She just. . . She just. . ."

When he just heard the word, the King isn't happy now. "Hylians?"

The young Mer-Sheikah continued to stutter while the eldest one shook his head slowly.

Then, the King placed his hand over the young one's mouth. "Now! I'm going to uncover your lips and I want you to _calmly_, with your brother tell me what it is about Hoshimi and Hylians. Understand?"

Keir nodded. Then as soon as his mouth was uncovered, he gave out. "Hoshimi rescued a Hylian from drowning, your majesty!"

Infuriated by the truth, the King hollered. "What? Hoshimi saved a life of a loathsome Hylian?"

"It's true." Said Shrakah, humbly. "She went up to the surface the other night, and when in a storm, she saved a Hylian boy from his watery grave."

"Yes! Yes! She even serenaded him and. . . and. . . she's been collecting items from the upper world!" The boy shrieked again. "What are we going to do? We're sorry, your majesty!"

But, the King was too furious in his thoughts about what to do about his daughter to accept any apologies just yet. Then he ordered out. "Summon the maidens and report this! They must come along with you two and me! We must go out and find my daughter! I must have a talk with her! This is the last time she's ever done this!"

Later on, without knowing that the King is coming to see her, Hoshimi opened the same slab of stone that leads over to her secret grotto. She doing this because, this happens to be the place where Red is leading her and the rest of the siblings for something.

"Red! Come on! You can at least tell me what you're going to show me!" She giggled.

"Well, come along!" He said, leading them through the tunnel and all the way to the entrance of the grotto. Then he pointed to something that's sitting on the sea bed. "There! See? It's a surprise for you."

Everyone looked at what's before them and gasped.

"Oh, Naryu of the Sacred Realm. . ." Sighed Link and Zelda.

"How did that get in here?" Asked Blue.

"It must have sunk from above." Said Vio.

However, the one who's most thrilled is Hoshimi. "Why! Red. . .!" What's in front of her is the same marble statue of the Prince! Shining Link!

Then she exclaimed with glee. "Red! Come here!" She wrapped her arms tightly around her brother, giving him a lovable squeeze! "Red! I'm so happy! You're the sweetest brother any girl can have!"

"Your. . . Welcome. . ." He grunted a bit before she releases him.

Vio, however isn't sure if the statue should be in the grotto, though. "Hoshimi. I might be having a bad feeling about this. There might be a good chance that our father will catch you with that thing."

"Oh! Relax, Vio! We're still keeping the secret." The princess is too happy to see that the statue is in the grotto. She is very delighted to have this as the biggest part of her collection. She swam around it in a few circles. "Don't you like it? It looks so much like Ryuusei, himself! It even has his face in every detail!"

Then she stopped to meet the statue's face and giggled. "Oh! Why, Prince Shining Link! You wish to start a life together? With me? Hah. . . By the Three Goddesses, this moment is so sudden for you to propose that to me!"

Hoshimi continued to giggle until suddenly, from the entrance of her grotto, stood a familiar figure! She then gasped.

Her siblings turned around and saw the figure too in shock.

"Oh!" They all said together. "Father!"

* * *

M.S.K: Yup. Hoshimi's father _is_ going to have an absolute fit about the truth. Sorry if the chapter's end is a cliff-hanger. Pretty soon, Shadow Link will show up to her in the next chapter. (Doki doki doki doki . . .) Oh gosh! Why is my heart beating all of a sudden. . . Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Do feel free to leave a review or a comment. Jya na!

Red: Now, um. Who are those people.

M.S.K: Oh yes! These guys. . . Eight young men actually; are part of those people who represent the many countries of this world. Mostly they're men but a few are women of course.

Vio: But, who are they?

M.S.K: (Giggles)

Blue: Now what?

M.S.K: They're all good friends, even if they sometimes don't act like so. One is from North America, four of them represent Europe, and two represent East Asia. They're even named after their home countries too.

Zelda: What's the name of that group?

M.S.K: (giggles some more.) I'll tell you. . . . . HETALIA!

Italy: (Pops into the room) Buonjourno, Kaoru!

The other nations: (Enters in too.)

M.S.K: Gyah! (Jumps up) How. . . How did you all get here?

Italy: We want to see you so, we all came in!

M.S.K: My oh my. . .


	7. The Troublesome Secret Revealed!

M.S.K: (Sitting in one place of the room, trembling) *Doki, doki, doki, doki. . .* Oh, gosh. . .

Shadow: (Rests himself upon the authoress' back) Kaoru~. . .

M.S.K: . . . . . .

Shadow: Oh, Kaoru~

M.S.K: Oh! Yeah? (Turns to him.)

Shadow: (smirks at her) Aren't you going to do something, honey?

M.S.K: (Blushes) Oh! Right, right! (blush disappears) Sorry for the wait again. I often got held up from time to time. I've been having a hard time trying to think on how the next chapter will start off with. Well, I think I should get to that later. I finally got this chapter up and Shadow is now really going to appear! So, will you do the. . .

Shadow: Yes. (clears throat) Kaoru doesn't own Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. She only owns her princess character, and her two other characters. Everything relating to the Four Swords saga of LoZ belongs to Nintendo.

M.S.K: Arigatou.

Shadow: Now, are you sure your heart's not going 'doki doki' for me, is it?

M.S.K: (blushes again, now deeply) Well, I. . . uh. . . .

Shadow: Come on and tell me the truth. . . (Walks over to snuggle the authoress)

M.S.K: Oh. . . . . *doki, doki, doki, doki. . .* _It just doesn't want to stop!_

* * *

Chapter 6: The Troublesome Secret Revealed!

_Recap:_

_"Oh! Why, Prince Shining Link! You wish to start a life together? With me? Hah. . . By the Three Goddesses, this moment is so sudden for you to propose that to me!"_

_Hoshimi continued to giggle until suddenly, from the entrance of her grotto, stood a familiar figure! She then gasped._

_Her siblings turned around and saw the figure too in shock._

_"Oh!" They all said together. "Father!"_

* * *

The joyful and wondrous atmosphere of Hoshimi's grotto has turned into a silent and suspicious one. Hoshimi and her siblings were shocked to see their father, King Thor at the doorway of the grotto. The King, himself is far from angry right now. Shrakah and Keir, stood behind him with sorrowful expressions on their eyes. Lastly, the Six Maidens were also worried too. They have thought they'll never see the day of when the King of Hylia will look so furiously upon the young princess.

While staring at the fearful eyes of her father, Hoshimi kept herself still in the water as she tried to hide the statue from him. Then again, she does know that she's not tall enough. She's even trembling too, never knowing what he'll say or do to her.

Trying to break up the suspicious silence of the waters, Vio moved over to his father with his fellow brothers behind him, and began to say to him. "Please! Father, let me explain! It's not. . ."

Before he can say another word, Thor moved his fearsome, angered eyes at him, making the Fourth Prince glance back with the brothers. "Stay out of this. . !" He growled.

Vio, Link, Red, and Blue couldn't believe this. They've never seen their father that way before. They can't even recall the last time he looked at them that way. Another thing they want to find out is what made the King know where their sister's treasured grotto is located.

Red whispered to Link. "I've never seen him _this _angry."

"Father must be very upset right now." He whispered back.

King Thor approached to Hoshimi slowly. "All this time, I thought I was a reasonable and knowledgeable king. Hoshimi! I've instructed you with rules which are very simple, and I expected you to obey them, willingly!" He examined the cavern of the grotto. "This entire time, you have been hiding this from me?"

"Look!" Hoshimi tried saying to him. "Father! It's not what it is. . .!"

But, he's taking no chances of listening to what she's about to give out. "Did you really rescued a Hylian male from drowning in that storm?"

"How. . . How can you know that?" She asked him.

"How, you ask? It's quite obvious that Shrakah and Keir told me everything!" He boomed. "Hoshimi! Do you have any idea of what you just did? Are you not blind? That act was inexcusable! The rule of my Royal Court clearly said that contact between our race and the Hylian rule is heavily prohibited! Everyone in the kingdom of Hylia knows that, Hoshimi! And so should you!"

Hoshimi tried to keep herself from whimpering as she tried to hold back the urge to cry. "But. . . But, if I hadn't been there, he would have perished! He's too good for that to happen to him! Besides, he's far different from those. . . those. . . _savages_ you always mentioned!"

"It doesn't matter! Why must I care about some worthless, loathsome devil of a Hylian boy?"

"Well, you can at least try to meet him and get a chance to know him! If you would do that, I'm sure you'll change for the better!" She hollered.

"Get to know him? Don't be ridiculous! What reason shall I get to know him? I have no need to do such a thing! I cannot have my own daughter try and change who I am! I'm the King! All Hylians like him are practically no where different from being savaging, hateful, disgraceful fish hunters! They are highly unlikely to obtain any feeling or emotion that a. . ."

Then, unable to take all of this lecturing she has heard numerous of times, Hoshimi yelled out with all of the might of her voice. "Father! Do stop this! I'm fond of him, so don't ever talk about Shining Link like that!" Then, she realized that she suddenly gave out the real backbone of the truth as she gasped with surprise! "Oh!"

After that, the Six Maidens gasped too! So did Shrakah, Keir, Link, Zelda, Blue, Red, and Vio!

Vio cringed with his widened eyes. _"Hoshimi! Just what were you thinking, giving out the real fact?"_ He thought.

_"Oh! Great Goddesses of Hyrule, he's going to be really, really mad with you, girl!"_ Blue's mind spoke.

_"This can lead up to only one big thing. . ."_ Thought Link.

_"Oh. . . Oh dear. . ."_ Zelda thought, worryingly for her sister.

_"Great Farore, please don't let Father punish her! Please don't let __Father punish her!"_ Red's mind chanted.

Among the silence, the shocked King spoke again. "What. . .? Princess Hoshimi of Hylia. . . .! Are you entirely out of your mind? Don't you ever know the difference we're seeing here? That boy is a Hylian and you are a Mer-Hylian girl! There's no way an affair can happen that way! A Hylian and a Mer-Hylian can't go together!"

"That doesn't matter to me anymore!" She said again, clinging on to the marble statue. She isn't anywhere between sadness or stress. She is secretly angry that her father just doesn't want to admit that he might be wrong on what he thinks about her prince.

Then, the King began to grip on to his trident in front of her. "It doesn't matter, you say? So! It's all come down to this! Well, I believe there is a way to make you understand me!" His trident then started to glow.

Hoshimi gasped for she can tell what might happen!

The Six Maidens noticed it too.

Blue Maiden then tried to plea with the king. "Your Majesty! Please don't! If you become too strict with her, she'll only become even more harder to control! You can't settle things this way!"

"Blue Maiden! There's only one way to discipline my daughter about the dangers of the upper world and there's no other method than this!" He replied harshly.

The Maiden lowered her head for there's nothing else she can do to hold him back, now.

Zelda, Link, and the others swam over to the Maidens' side to brace themselves for what they'll be witnessing!

Once the trident's power reached its full potential, Hoshimi began to beg. "No! Father! Please reconsider! I'll never go up there again! I beseech you! Don't do this!"

But, it's too late! With all of its power, King Thor used his trident to destroy everything Hoshimi collected for her grotto! All of the little knick knacks and treasures are being reduced to sea sand, one by one!

While he's doing so, all Hoshimi can do is watching him doing this brash deed!

After all of the knick knacks were demolished, the last thing to be destroyed is that marble statue! The King began to aim his trident at it!

Seeing what he's going to do, Hoshimi tried to use her Naryu's Love to create a barrier around it. Little did she knew that her barrier may not be strong enough against the strength of her father's power. "Father! Cease fire!" She cried out while performing her barrier.

But, he wouldn't listen! He shot out his blow towards the statue, breaking through her shield!

"Everyone! Shield your eyes!" Link shouted as he, his siblings, the Mer-Sheikah, and the Maidens braced themselves!

The bright beam wrapped itself around the statue and before anyone can see it, the entire statue, that's once been one whole piece, was shattered into many pieces. King Thor has finished the destructive deed of punishing his daughter for all she had been doing.

Seeing the entire grotto destroyed and the marvelous statue gone, Hoshimi fell to the seabed, beginning to cry. Everything she collected, everything she gathered has been turned into sand. With tiny tear bubbles floating up from her eyes, she even felt sorry for herself.

King Thor looked down at his daughter with a stern face for a bit. Then, his sternness turned into sorrow, too. As he slowly swam away from the grotto's cavern with a sad expression in his eyes, he is sure that his daughter hates him now. He's also sure that the Goddesses of Hyrule will never forgive him and he couldn't do the same for himself either.

The Maidens, the Mer-Sheikah brothers, and the rest of the Royal Children watched him swimming off from the cavern. After he has gone, they slowly swim over to the weeping princess.

Shrakah tried to apologize to her. "Oh, my lady. I know it's hard. Me and my brother are sorry. We tried not to tell him. We really do."

But, she whispered in her sobs. "Please. . . Leave me alone. . . Let me be. . ."

Well, it seemed that he couldn't do a thing or two to help cheer her up now. So, he and Keir began to take their leave out of the grotto too.

Link, Zelda, Vio, Red, Blue, and the Maidens also followed, leaving the poor princess behind.

As they leave the now empty grotto, Blue spat. "Humph! Solid plan, Vio!"

"I have nothing to report to you, right now." That's all his violet garbed brother can say.

Back inside, Hoshimi was still crying. Floating above her is Shadow Link once more! He was also smiling too. In an evil way, that is. The whole time he has been watching the destruction of the knick knack gallery. Now, his grin began to broad even wider for this is the perfect time for him to make his move!

He slowly swam down to meet her with his black colored fins. "Heh, heh, heh, heh. . . ." He chuckled vilely. "Well what do I see now. . .? Ah, yes! What an unfortunate mermaid you are. No! A Mer-Hylian princess with sadness filling up to the brim of her heart."

His snake oiled words then made her stop her crying and turn her attention to him, swimming to her. She even glanced a bit at his sudden appearance. He really looked like her four brothers, but only darker.

Shadow Link continued his smooth talk with her. "Lovely, fair, delicate Hoshimi of Hylia, you do have a big problem inside you. Am I right?"

Hoshimi blinked. Did he just called sweet-talked her? Not too many men around the kingdom will do that with her.

"I guess I'm right. I am sure if there is a simple method that can help ease this sadness. Well, I think there is." He spoke again, sitting on the one spot of the seabed in front of her. He even examined her figure with his ruby colored eyes, which are now filled with something that the princess, herself couldn't name. "My, my! Dear, dear Hoshimi. . . . Oh! You're truly are a diamond of purebred beauty as they say. Just look at the scales of your tail!" He even leaned in towards her.

Hoshimi happened to whimper a bit. But to shake it off, she asked him while narrowing her eyes. "Just. . . Who are you, anyway?"

Shadow Link chuckled again as he placed his hand on top of hers. She even blinked once he did so. "There's no need to be frightened, Princess." He then played with one of the side plaits of her hair. "I'm only a humble servant of someone who's able to help you out of the calamity you're in." He moved his hand from her hair to her the side of her tail. "A special someone who will grant your wish."

As he began to move his hand down the side of her tail, Hoshimi began to flinch and move away from it along the sand. "Whose tail are you touching?"

"Oh." He said before chuckling again. "You really moved on me, your royal cuteness." Seeing her with a scowling face really made him smile. To him, she looked cute that way. He's truly amused at the move she made earlier. "I never know that a rather gorgeous mermaid, such as yourself can be this flinchy. That's really cute. It makes me want to get even closer to you!"

Hoshimi blinked again. _"Am I being flirted with by a dark clone of my brothers?"_ She asked herself in thought.

Before she knows it already, Shadow Link is now a few centimeters closer to her than he was moments ago. "You see, fair Princess. The reason why I'm here is to tell you that this person I'm mentioning can surely help bring you and that shining prince of Hyrule together."

"What. . . what are you saying?" She asked him again.

He chuckled once more as he stroked her arm with his hand. "What I'm saying is. . . I know that Ganondorf can help you out with his incredible magic. I know it will, my beauteous goldfish."

When she heard the name of the infamous wizard from the Gerudos, she glanced backwards. "Ganondorf. . .? Why I. . . . That's. . . There's no way. . . I can. . . No! I can't accept that! Just go away and tell him that I have no interest for help from a sea demon like him!" She then turned her back around and crossed her arms.

Shadow Link then bowed his head slowly. "Do suit yourself, your highness. . ." As he started to swim off, he said to her. "I'm only suggesting for you. That's all. But, then again you're not opened to it." His fins then kicked over the Knife of Hylia's Tears next to her.

Hoshimi saw the knife and picked it up. As she held it in her hands, she began to think about Shining Link again. Then, she made up her mind. "Um. . . Shadow Link! Wait a minute!" She called out.

Gradually, he hasn't left the grotto just yet. "Yes, princess?"

After burying the knife under the sand as a hiding place, she swam over to him and sternly announced. "Where is Ganondorf living at right now?"

Shadow Link began to grin again. Things are really going according to plan now! _"That's my girl! You are beginning to cooperate with me!"_

Outside of the cavern, Zelda and the Four Princes were waiting outside. Shrakah, Keir, and the Maidens have already gone back to the palace. They're all sitting on a rock together, thinking about their sister.

Red is the one who's currently sorry for her as tears float from his eyes. "Oh, poor Hoshimi. . ."

Zelda tried to bring him out of his sorrow. "Look, I'm sure that Shrakah and his brother didn't mean to tell on her."

Then, the saw a shadow overlapping them. They all looked up and there is Hoshimi following Shadow Link as he's taking her somewhere.

"Hoshimi! Where are you going, now?" Said Link as he and his siblings swam up to see their sister. They also saw Shadow Link who's with her.

He laughed when he saw the Four Princes and Zelda. "Well now! Long time no see, Link, Red, Blue, and Vio!"

"Shadow Link!" The four said in unison. Yes, this shadowy version of themselves is a rival of theirs.

"Hello, Princess Zelda!" He said, smiling at her.

"Don't 'hello' me, servant of darkness!" She isn't so happy to meet him either.

Each Prince took out their swords, getting ready to try and fight Shadow.

"Woah there!" He said laughing, still. "I'm not here to fight with you guys like in the past."

"That's what you think! We know you're up to something suspicious, so save your words!" Said Blue, pointing his sword at him.

"Hoshimi! Get away from him!" Vio instructed.

But, she just looked at them for a bit before lowering her head. She didn't even bother to say anything or do anything.

"I'm afraid my help-seeker doesn't want to do that." Said Shadow, grinning as he held her by her waist. "I'm busy taking this lovely princess to where her problem can be solved. So do withdraw your swords and let us pass."

"You're wrong!" Said Red. "Hoshimi knows that she'll never get help from you. She won't even need it."

"Ah! But she does. I saw her weeping and I came to wipe away her tears. By saying that she really wants to have her wish granted, she has made her decision to follow my guidance." He said again.

Zelda remarked. "You're lying! Hoshimi will never give in to someone like you! How will you call her a help-seeker?"

"I'm sorry everyone. . ." Hoshimi began to say. "But Shadow is right. I am in need of help and he is going to guide me to the solution he spoke with me about."

Now, all of her siblings were startled by her words.

"Wait!" Said Link. "Am I hearing right? You've already gave in for his deed?"

"Are you crazy, Hoshimi?" Blue snapped. "Don't you have any idea who this guy is? He might try and trick you! You can't be serious just by _listening_ to him!

"I am serious, Blue." She said slowly.

"Oh, sister! Why would you do this?" Said Red, beginning to cry.

But, Vio swam over to her and asked in a demanding matter. "Tell me, sister! Just what are you planning to do, by affiliating yourself with this. . . this shadow?"

"Shadow Link is going to take me over to see Ganondorf. That's why I'm following him, now." With that, she took Shadow's hand and they swam pass her siblings.

Everyone gasped slightly! Their younger sister is going off to visit the dangerous, villainous, devious, and most powerful sea wizard from the Gerudo Tribe, Ganondorf, himself!

Link quickly grabbed Hoshimi's arm, trying to get her to withdraw from her decision, exclaiming. "No! No! Don't do this, Hoshimi! You mustn't!"

"Yes! Don't! It's for your own good! So, you shouldn't go there!" Cried Zelda.

"Ganondorf lives in the middle of that terrible, dark, cold seaweed jungle! No Mer-Hylian can ever survive there! It's too dangerous! There are sharks, sea piranha, giant vampire squids, flesh eating polyps, giant sea kraits, and monsters everywhere! Including some critters that are bigger than that sea serpent we fought with! What's worse is that there's this hideous giant abalone that guards the heart of that jungle and preys on innocent fish and Mer-Hylians! If you're caught by that beast, he'll consume you alive, and you'll never be seen again!" Red cried with panic as he clung on to Hoshimi's other arm.

"And you can never trust a sea demon like Ganondorf!" Shouted Blue. "He once worked for our family. But, he acted against Father and before he's banished, he tried taking the throne of Hylia by force!"

Vio also chimed in. "Don't forget that when he was doing so, he used you to get to him! You can't just turn to him for help! He'll do something cruel to you! He's a monster so, stay away from him!"

But Hoshimi replied to them with an angry glare. "If you all think that it's too unwise, well then, why not go home and tell Father, just like Shrakah? You all can go ahead and try whatever need to stop me, but it's a little late for that! My mind's made up!" With that said, she continued to follow Shadow Link to where he'll take her to the Sea Wizard.

Link, Zelda, and the other three boys were left behind as they're watching the two swimming off.

"Ho. . . Hoshimi. . ." Link muttered.

Now, Red is having tears filling up to the brim of his eyes. "She's. . . going away, Green. . . She's even angry at me. . ."

"What will we do now?" Asked Zelda.

Then, Link's determination for helping his sister begin to rise up in him again. He announced to his siblings. "We can't let her do this alone! We have to go to that Forbidden Seaweed Jungle and make sure Ganondorf hasn't done anything to harm her!"

"WHAT?" They all asked him.

"But Green!" Cried Red again. "We can't go there!"

"Indeed!" Said Vio sternly. "Like he said earlier! It's completely out of bounds! And plus, no Mer-Hylian has ever made it out alive!"

Link just looked at them with serious eyes. "No one has, but _we_ can! We have Farore's Courage and Naryu's Wisdom with us. So, let's get going! Let's follow them!" He then took the early lead to swim off, as his brothers and sister followed.

They may not no the outcome of what Hoshimi is planning but, they are hoping that she should be all right.

* * *

M.S.K: Oh! Hoshimi is swimming off to Ganondorf now! But, what will he be planning just by granting her wish? Well, you'll find out soon on the next chapter. So, feel free to leave a review or a comment. Jya na!

Shadow: Well, that's a wrap for this one.

M.S.K: Yup. And, I got to hand it to you. You did a really good job, cassanova.

Shadow: (Smirks again) Oh, why thank you very much, Lady Kaoru! It was my finest hour comparing to the last few bits of me in the story. Because, the other four are getting the lime light.

M.S.K: Thanks for rubbing that in. . .


	8. Seaweed Jungle Problems

M.S.K: Boy! Why! I'm so busy nowadays. Well, frankly I've been having trouble updating this yesterday. Well, now here it is. Sorry for the long wait. This chapter is before Hoshimi meets Ganon. Apparently, I haven't had much to say for now, because many things were holding me up from my writing.

Navi: Hey! Don't forget that you were ill for a few days and you have been coughing non-stop.

M.S.K: Yes, thanks Navi. So, why won't you do the disclaimer?

Navi: Of course! Kaoru doesn't own a single thing about Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. It rightfully belongs to the creators and storytellers of Nintendo. She only owns her protagonist and her secondary characters.

M.S.K: Thank you very much! Now, on with the story!

* * *

Chapter 7: Seaweed Jungle Problems

Shadow Link and Hoshimi have been swimming for quite a long while once they've entered the Forbidden Seaweed Jungle, where Ganondorf is currently living.

In a few minutes, Hoshimi began to shiver a bit. "Oh. . ." The deeper they swim into the jungle, the colder the water is getting. It almost feels like she is swimming in a sea that's up in the far north, where it is all cold as ice.

Shadow Link then wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm. Once he did so, he and she continue the rest of the way. "There, there. Now, let's keep going, shall we?"

Although she finds this shadowy mer-hylian boy strange, she continued onward with him. She is still trying to wonder whether or not, Ganondorf will help her fulfill her need.

After swimming through the dark waters for a moment, Hoshimi saw some sand on the sea bed shifting around. Then out came the flesh eating polyps that Red mentioned! They're ready to make an attack while gnashing their dagger-like jaws! As they do, the princess didn't even bear to show a sign of fear.

Then, Shadow used his dark magic to scare those sharp-toothed creatures off, making them crawl back below the surface of the seabed. When that's done, he smirked at Hoshimi. "That should do it. They usually do that every time when I'm around. Believe me, Princess. You can never teach a sea polyp."

Hoshimi didn't say anything but looked at him oddly. _"Never mind that. Just call me Hoshimi, if you please."_ She thought to herself.

Then, they continued to swim onwards.

As for her siblings, they are now at the entrance of the jungle since they have been following her and Shadow.

"Well, here it is. But, I got a really bad feeling about this, Green." Said Red, nervously.

"I've never been into this part of the sea, before. It does look as perilous as what Father told us." Said Zelda.

Link observed the thick seaweed grove carefully to see if there isn't any sign of danger. But, it seemed that the first start of the pathway looks fine. "There's no sign of life around here, so it should be safe enough to cross and catch up to them. But we should be on the look out for any vicious creatures, so it's best to see them before they see us."

"You know, I agree with you, Green. For once." Said Blue while shrugging a little.

"Then, let's get going." Said Vio.

"But, why?" Red whined.

"Must you criticize his strategy?" He asked him back.

Well, with that, they all entered the dangerous seaweed grove! As they swam deeper into the jungle, they are experiencing the same thing Hoshimi have. They're now reaching the deepest part of the jungle and the water has gotten terribly cold in temperature. But, they continued swimming to keep up with their sister.

While swimming with his brothers and sister, Red happens to notice some skeletal carcasses of earlier mer-hylians who have been into the jungle before they do. At first, he felt an urge to squirm with fright after seeing them on the seabed. He is right. Many mer-hylians either got lost here or have been here for hunting and never came back alive. But, he must keep himself focused on bravery since he's known to be a charming hero with his brothers. So he continued swimming with his eyes staying straight ahead.

Then it wasn't too long before he said softly. "Hey, guys. I don't think I can take this any longer. This place is giving me the creeps!"

"Ssssh!" Vio shushed him. "Quiet! You don't want any of those blood-thirsty monsters to hear us!"

"Well, it does!" He whispered back again.

"Zip it, Red!" Blue shouted in his whispers. "What do you fear? You know, you're not supposed to be a scaredy catfish. That's something a hero shouldn't be doing."

But, Red continued to whimper. "But. . . But. . . I want to go home!"

Then, all of a sudden, his cry accidentally awoke a horde of giant sea kraits!

"Oh! Great!" Blue yelled once he saw the creatures. "Nice going, Red!"

Then, one began to lunge at Zelda! "Ah!"

Luckily, before it can reach her, Link quickly sliced the creature in half with his sword!

As the creature fell in pieces, he announced. "Come on, everybody! Get ready to cover up!"

So! Everyone used their sword techniques and magic to defeat those meat eating kraits, one by one, until the very last one was in pieces!

Once the fight was over, everyone sighed in relief! None of them are hurt, gratefully.

Link sighed. "Whew! You gave us quite a scare with that scream, Red."

"Sorry." He said to them.

"No worries." Said Vio. "All we got to do now is to keep up with Hoshimi and Shadow."

But, Blue is still suspecting things. "But, we got to be more careful! Ganondorf's hideout can still be guarded by many more of those critters! We have to be on our guard. Especially you, Red!"

Red begin to back up a wall of seaweed and tried explaining to his brother. "But, you know I can't help it, Blue! Yes! I'm a childish prince at various times of circumstance and a lot of people want a change in me. But, as you can see, I am what I am, you know!"

Then, something bit him on the shoulder a bit, causing him to yelp! "Yeowch!" He looked on what's on his shoulder. A sea-piranha! "Gyaah! Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!" He squirmed as he swam around and around in panic, practically embarrassing his fellow brothers and sister.

"Oh! For Din's sake!" Blue sighed. Then, with one swipe of his hand, he plucked the toothy fish off, slapped it on a rock, and smashed it upon the rock with his magic mallet! As it dissolved into fish mush with rock debris, he growled. "Yeah! Just like that! That's what I'll do with those things! From now on, don't go around picking up any of these small eating frenzy carnivores!" He hates sea-piranha as much as Red does.

Red swam up to his brother with tears in his eyes again. "Oh! Thank you! You saved me, my blue hero!"

"No! Not again, with that face, those eyes, and all of that mushy stuff! You're creeping me out!" The ocean colored-tailed boy squirmed, trying to pry the clinging Red one off his arm.

Suddenly, there was a _growl!_ Everyone looked about at their surroundings and they found not one or two, but many more sea-piranha in each direction! They are all forming up in one big circle around them, blocking their chances to escape and find their sister. Not to mention going under or over them.

"This isn't good. They're everywhere." Said Link, seeing that these fish are already gnashing their chops.

"How are we going to get to Hoshimi now?" Asked Red, quivering while holding his sword.

"I got an idea!" Link announced. "Zelda! Get behind us!"

"Okay." She answered.

"Good. Now, everyone! Let's do a diamond formation around her and when I give the signal, we'll do a spin attack, together while she does her part! Plan?"

"Plan!" The three agreed in unison!

So, they got themselves together in the formation, just as Link spoke of. As soon as they're assembled, Zelda began to have her powers ready.

All of the sea-piranha start their attack! But, at Link's signal, the Four Princes quickly do a spin formation around Zelda to protect her as they all sliced them up before they can lay their jaws on them! While they're doing their sword job, the pink-tailed princess used Din's Fire to burn up a few to give her brothers a hand.

As soon as the piranha are gone, another situation of trouble was avoided, thanks to the clever Royal Children! Well, they should all thank Link for that, because everything they did is part of his maneuver strategy, of course.

"Phew!" They all sighed.

"I don't think I can take anymore of this! Those things could have turned us all into mincemeat!" Red whined at first.

"Are we still on track of where we can still be more nearer towards Ganondorf's lair than farther?" Zelda asked Link.

Well, Link looked around and about to see if they're still on the same path they're taking in order to keep up with Hoshimi. But, it seemed that they've already got themselves during the past critter fight. They're now in the middle of one part of the Seaweed Jungle, where they might not be able to find the path again. "Oh no." He mumbled.

Blue asked him. "What's wrong?"

"We're already out of range." Link answered.

"What do you mean?" He asked him again.

"When we were fighting those flesh eaters, we got ourselves out of range. By all means, we strayed from the path we're supposed to be taking during the battle."

"Oh dear!" Said Zelda.

"We won't be able to catch up to them at this rate!" Red exclaimed also.

"Indeed. After knowing everything about its dangers, we never knew that this jungle can be very confusing. It's almost like we were wandering through a maze and we got ourselves bamboozled by certain surprises emerging from every direction. In the end, they all made us let our guard down and get easily distracted, causing us to take the wrong road afterwards."

Blue wasn't too surprised to see that his violet garbed brother have figured out why they're now lost. "Now, you're telling us?"

"What are we going to do in order to get back to process, Vio?" Asked Red.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking." He answered him.

While everyone is thinking, Zelda happened to feel a tug on her tail! "Oh!" She looked behind at what's pulling her into a thick grove of kelp! A group of Sea Mublins! "Link! Everyone!" She cried.

They all turned and gasped when they saw the Sea Mublins trying pulling their sister into the kelp they're hiding from! Zelda is also struggling to swim out of the grip of their grubby, clawed hands!

"Gah! Sea Mublins!" Cried Red swimming towards Blue.

"Of course they're Sea Mublins, you sea-deku nut head!" He shouted while pushing him off his chest.

"Help her! Help her!" Said Link before the two can get into another argument.

Without wasting a second or two, he and his brothers got together to rescue their sister.

As the brothers were battling the Sea Mublins on a tug-of-war with their sister, she tried slapping them on the head with her hands. "Let go of my tail!" She demanded. While she's continuing her slapping, the Triforce mark on her hand glowed brightly!

Blinded by the shining light from the back of her hand, the Sea Mublins flinched, removed their hands off of her tail and hastily swam back into the kelp grove!

The Royal Quadruplets and the Princess are surprised at what happened.

But, Red boasted. "Aha! I knew it all along! I knew it! Yes, I do! I knew they're scared of the Triforce!"

"You already knew?" Asked Link and Blue, for they have never seen their brother boasting out that way before.

Vio asked Zelda. "Are you all right? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"Well, only a bit." She answered, gesturing to the two thin scratch marks above her fins. "Their claws were pretty sharp."

"Oh." He pulled out a handkerchief from inside the sleeve of his tunic and wrapped it gently around the spot on her tail to heal. "You can still swim with it, right?"

Zelda moved it a bit and answered. "Yes. Thank you."

After going through another trial of struggling through thick kelp fronds and almost getting caught by the flesh-eating polyps, Link, Zelda, and their brothers are now in near exhaustion.

"Where. . . Are we. . . Right now?" Blue huffed.

"I believe. . . We're getting close. . ." Said Link

"Everyone's tired." Vio stated. "We need to rest a bit before we can go on."

Red agreed. "That's just what I need. The pace is killing me and I'm already worn out."

"But, we can't just sit here!" His blue-garbed brother protested.

"Vio is right, Blue." Said Zelda. "We've been swimming through this jungle for quite a long while, trying to keep up with Hoshimi and it's bigger than what we imagined. We also keep running into creatures that only think of us as food."

"I say we should get out of this place! I'm now sick over it!" He shouted again. "If Hoshimi wants to become shark bait, herself, then so be it!"

"Blue! Don't think of it that way!" Link replied aggressively. "After being lectured by father, she just couldn't cope with the stress and frustration she's having right now. That's why I want all of us to stay touch with her in the first place and for once, please! You got to stick to it!"

But, Blue just yelled. "Bah! Don't bother me with another one of those stupid ideas of yours! If I were to be the first prince in this brothel of siblings, then I won't be having an algae colored hat for brains!"

"Blue! Don't say that! You don't really mean it! Besides, Green _does_ make a great leader and if he's the eldest, then perhaps, it wouldn't matter to you!" Red cried.

"Well, excuuuuuuuuse me, Red!" He snorted. "It _does_ matter! If Hoshimi were to have any sense, then she will be forgetting everything she knew about that Prince Shimmering Link or whatever he is!"

"Blue. . . .!" The Second Prince whined, feeling an urge to cry again.

"All right! Enough of this brash ranting!" Zelda exclaimed. "This is getting nowhere, right now!"

"Exactly." Agreed Vio. "The longer it is, the more time we're wasting. We need to keep up with our younger sister."

But, he still yelled out. "If she wants to become a pawn of that loathsome sea wizard by now, then fine! It's not like I care!" He said before pounding on to something that felt like it's made of stone.

Then, everyone can feel the stony surface shaking a bit. They all flinched and tried to stay alert.

"Now what?" Blue asked. "Why did the sea floor moved just now?"

"Um, guys. . ." Said Red, nervously. "This isn't the sea floor. . ."

Then, what looked like the seabed just now began to rose up below them! On top of it were a few tendrils emerging too!

"Oh no." Said Vio as he held Zelda close to him.

"Everyone, what we're sitting on is not the sea bed!" Link warned them.

They all moved away and saw what it is! The Giant Abalone!

"Gyah! There it is! There it is!" Red cried frightfully!

"That's a colossal abalone I've ever seen!" Blue exclaimed. "Not to mention the only one."

All of a sudden, the creature began to launch its tendrils towards them in order to grab them!

Just in time, they all dodged the first two tendrils and got ready to fight!

They manage to fight off most of its tendrils with their weapons and magic. But, it seemed that the creature wanted meat more than anything else as it continued to shoot out at them! It must have never eaten for a long, long while! The Abalone shot out a tendril towards Vio, grabbing him by his tail and start pulling him towards its mouth!

"Gah!" He cried, dropping his sword as he is pulled over towards the colossal creature!

"Vio!" His siblings cried as they notice him getting caught by the monster!

The Abalone clamped its fleshy mouth over the Prince's tail, holding him down on the sea bed! Then, it's planning to drag him into its mouth slowly so it can consume him whole later on!

Vio desperately struggled upon the sand to try and get free! But, it seemed that it's too difficult! "You. . . beast of a mollusk!" He cursed as he grunted.

Green, Blue, Red, and Zelda quickly swam over to help him out! But, before they can reach it, the monstrous creature swung a tendril to drive them away, sending them flying through the water and landing on a few kelp fronds!

Everyone moaned at the pain they got at first, but they're okay as they are slowly getting themselves up.

"Vio!" Zelda cried for she's seeing that he's still struggling to get out of the mollusk's grasp. But, none of his movements were fast enough!

"We've been trying to harm it with all of our swords' strength but, Its shell! It's like armor!" Link spoke. "It seemed that the swords aren't capable enough to penetrate it!"

Red yelped. "Oh no! He's going to get eaten for sure! We won't be the Four Princes of Hylia again!"

"Yes we will!" Blue roared. "I'll just crush him with all of the might I have!" He pulled out his magic mallet and start to charge at the Abalone. "All right you big, fat, giant snail head!"

The Abalone made a questioned roar at him as if he's referring to it.

"Yes! You!" He answered its question. "Time to get squashed!"

"No! Blue! No!" Link cried out as he grabbed his brother by his left arm!

"Let go of me, Green!" He protested, trying to pry his arm away. "I'm not going to let this creep of a mollusk get away just by wanting to eat our brother, whole! So, back off!"

"Blue! Think about it!" The First Prince cried out again. "If you try and bash that thing, you'll hurt Vio in the process!"

"It's true, you know!" Zelda added. "The resulting shock waves from the mallet's strike can also rumble through any other object that's over a few miles away from its target!"

"Then what do you all think we should do?" He asked with exaggeration! "How are we going to get him out if we can't figure out this creature's weakness!"

"Guys!" Vio yelled out. "Don't worry about me! Just go and keep a good watch on Hoshimi!"

"But, Vio! You're the best brother in our family!" Red cried, with tears floating out of his eyes! "If. . . . If you are gone, oh! What will we do. . ?" But, before he can do anymore crying, he happened to notice a bit of something about the Abalone. He saw a few holes on top of its shell. "Aha! That's it!" He quickly wiped his tears, and swam off to another grove of seaweed, nearby. He had himself an idea!

"Oh! Red! What are you doing now?" Blue asked again.

"I know just what to do!" He called out to him.

Inside the seaweed grove, Red found something perfect for his plan! There's a group of dark violet sea urchins on one part of the seafloor. He smirked once he saw them. "Yes! Just what I need!" He said proudly to himself. So, he cut himself a thick frond of seaweed, and gathered up enough sea urchins before heading back to where the Abalone is.

Once he got there, he began to drop one sea urchin into each hole of the monster's shell!

Just when it looks like it was all over for Vio, he began to notice that the Giant Abalone, itself is beginning to twitch in a certain way! It's about to pull itself upward a bit as it continued to twitch! "Huh? What's happening?" He asked.

Blue wondered about his brother. "What is he doing?"

"I don't know for sure, but somehow what he's doing is irritating the monster already! He's doing something to it with some. . . small animals." Said Link.

Red continued dropping sea urchins into the monster's shell! "Hah! Here you are! Eat this instead! A nice meal of poison sea urchins! Take that, you over-grown scallop!"

When he heard the words of those small creatures he used, Link was surprised. "Ah! So that's what you're doing!"

The giant monster is starting roar out in pain as it picked itself upward again!

Seeing that Vio is perfectly unharmed, Red quickly tossed the frond of seaweed aside and swam over with haste to retrieve him. "Ah! Vio!" He made it to him and got him up to swim back to the others. "Come on!"

"Well done, Red!" He said, congratulating him!

As soon as they're settled back together with the other three, Red warned them. "Stand back everybody!"

As they did, what they're seeing is right now, the sea urchins inside the Abalone's shell are really giving it a hard time! It began to twitch wildly in pain!

Link smiled as he watched the mollusk's reaction. "Yes! Yes! It's working! The poison from the urchins' quills are infecting the creature's flesh inside its shell!"

As soon as the poison is spreading through its fleshy body completely, the Giant Abalone began to topple itself over on its back and started to fall off from the rocky ledge it's standing on! Then it fell to its death, down, down, down to the bottom of the black abyss of the sea!

Now, that the monster is gone, Red proudly dusted his hands. "There! That will teach him!"

"Oh! Red!" Zelda began to compliment him. "You are about to cry for when Vio's life is about to approach certain death, you just used quick thinking and saved him!"

Link nodded. "Yeah! You defeated that Giant Abalone with nothing but a batch of sea urchins! Way to go, Red!"

"I beg to differ!" Blue snorted for he could have done something if Red were to keep on crying.

"Thank you, Red." Vio said, smiling warmly. "If it weren't for you, I'll be fish food."

"Aw, it was nothing." Red answered to his siblings while blushing and rubbing the back of his head.

Then, Link spotted two figures swimming from looking through a ruined patch of seaweed. "Ah! There they are!" He just spotted Hoshimi and Shadow Link! They're finally back on track! "Everyone! There's no time to celebrate just yet! We still need to keep up with our sister!"

"Yes!" Everyone agreed and continued to head on to Ganondorf's lair!

* * *

M.S.K: I hope you like the battle scene so far. But, things are going to be more intense in the next chapter. It's what I'm going to be really working on now. Again, I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Do feel free to leave a review or a comment. See you next time!

Vio: So, you were sick and that's why you are a little slow with this chapter?

M.S.K: That's one of the things. I've been coughing a lot, lately.

Vio: How serious was it?

M.S.K: Well, it's not exactly too serious, really. But, I don't know where it's from. I've tried everything to cure it. Medicine such as cough syrup, tablets, and drinking up as much water as I can get. But then, I've finally got rid of it thanks to the strongest medicine I was offered with. It does have an awful taste, but it sure did the trick.

Vio: I see. . .


	9. Hoshimi's Wish

M.S.K: Well, now. It's about time I'm able to get this chapter up! This is when Hoshimi becomes something else! It's very risky too.

Link: REALLY risky.

M.S.K: Thanks. Apparently for now, I don't have much to say. It's because I was a little slow this morning. I stayed up a little late last night and fell asleep, leaving the lamp on. So, Link?

Link: All right. Kaoru doesn't own Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. She only owns her own characters and the rest all belongs to the creators of Nintendo.

M.S.K: Thank you very much. Now, on with the show!

Link: Well, taking turns isn't so bad as what Blue think.

M.S.K: Yup!

* * *

Chapter 8: Hoshimi's Wish

After swimming for a few more miles, Hoshimi and Shadow Link are now entering a rather dark, abyss-like ravine littered with sea vents, dead coral reefs, and some other inhabitants that adapt to life in the deepest, darkest side of the Great Ocean.

Although she has never been to this part of the sea before, Hoshimi kept her stern bravery in her, not bothering to be scared of anything that's living below the deep black shadows of these cold waters.

"We're here, now." Said Shadow, showing the princess a black colored, fortress-like, sinister looking castle in front of her widened eyes. They have arrived! Ganondorf's Castle! The hiding place of the infamous sea wizard, himself!

"Is this. . ." Hoshimi began to ask.

"Yup!" He answered her. "Lord Ganondorf's Castle."

"Lord?"

"I live with him, fair princess. You'll might call him my own father. Well, almost. He drew me out of the dark world and took me in as his own." He smirked.

Hoshimi didn't say anything else but stared at him. She really find him quite awkward ever since he start flirting with her from the start.

Meanwhile, behind a rock, Link, Zelda, and their brothers are almost close to getting close to their sister in order to keep an eye on her. They're readying themselves for the next move.

"Well, here we are." Whispered Red. "Are you sure that we should all go in once they do?"

Link boldly provoked his answer. "Yes!"

"Yeah! Yeah!" Blue whispered. "Once we get in there, I'll surely snap that Ganondorf down to the marrow of his bones with my mallet!"

"Oh, no! Not at that moment!" Said Zelda. "You have gone a little too much about being brash right now, Blue. You can save that for later because, I do have a sinking feeling that Ganondorf might be up to something about granting what Hoshimi wants."

But, Blue couldn't help but let his frustration get the best of him. "I'm telling you all! I never like Ganondorf! Not one little, tiny, microscopic bit! I really want to make whale blubber out of him!"

Getting annoyed with his ranting, Vio knocked him on the top of his brother's head and shushed him. "Ssssshhh! They'll hear us, so don't shout, for Naryu's sake!"

"I already know that you're all here. So, don't bother to hide around this place." Shadow said to them, for he does know they're there.

They all rose out of their hiding place and swam over to Hoshimi.

"You guys? What are you doing here?" She asked them.

"We were swimming all the way here to keep watch on you!" Said Blue.

"Oh yeah. I'm suppose it's Father or Shrakah who gave you the job." she said with her eye twitching a bit in an annoyed way.

"That was my idea." Link answered gesturing to himself. "We have gone through a whole lot of trouble to get here in order to make sure you're safe."

After a small pause, she asked them again. "You have?"

"Yeah!" Red exclaimed. "We were trying to stick to one path through the thick groves of kelp. But we were met with sea kraits, sea-piranha, polyps, and sea mublins every step of the way! Not to mention fighting against a Giant Abalone."

"A Giant. . . Abalone?" Hoshimi repeated.

Shadow just chuckled. "Heh, heh. You know what? For once, I'm quite amused that you all made it this far. I didn't expect you to fight off that mollusk together before it can have you all for a little snack. It's very convenient if you ask me."

"How is that convenient, Shadow boy?" Blue growled. "Vio is the one who could have been eaten back there!

The Fourth Prince grumbled at him.

Red then remarked at Blue. "Well, at least I saved him with some urchins and by my thanks to the Goddesses of Hyrule, he's safely alive in one piece!"

"Frankly. . ." Shadow started. "I'm not too fond of the mollusk, myself. It's once a weapon of Lord Ganondorf's whose job is to only eat those who will try and go against him. But, unfortunately. . ."

"Let me guess." Vio interrupted. "It got smart enough to wonder why it have to take orders. Am I right?"

Shadow smirked at him. "Sharp as ever, Vio. Sharp as ever."

He cringed when he saw him smirking.

"Yes, we lost control of it. We let it run loose in the kelp groves feeding on not only trespassers, but also lost civilians from Hylia." He finished.

Link began to turn to his youngest sister. "All right. Now that we're all here, let's start this out, Hoshimi. What is your reason why you entrust Shadow Link to visit Ganondorf?"

When she heard those words, Hoshimi remained still in the water next to the shadowy clone of her brothers. Right now, Link, Red, Blue, Vio, and Zelda are staring at her with worried and stern expressions in their eyes. She didn't know what to say for her answer.

"Well?" Asked Blue.

"Tell us!" Demanded Link.

"Give up the truth, Hoshimi." Said Vio.

Well, realizing that there's no other way to hide it, Hoshimi sighed and explained her reason. "Oh. . . All right. I'll tell you. The reason why I want to come here is, by knowing that Ganondorf is a wizard, himself, I am quite sure that he'll have a certain spell that can change me into a Hylian girl. That way, I'll be able to see Prince Shining Link in person."

Shadow Link made a wider smirk when she gave them the truth.

Now, her siblings were really surprised about her answer!

"Wait a second. . . You really want to change into a Hylian?" Link asked, shifting his eyebrow upward.

Hoshimi nodded. "Yes."

"But, Hoshimi!" Blue remarked for he didn't seemed to be entirely thrilled about her need. "Aren't you happy with what you have already? You got a glittering tail that everybody admires so much and now, you are hoping to have a pair of legs? Isn't that enough? I can't believe you come all this way to ask a sea devil to grant you one ridiculous wish!"

"I already know it sounds crazy!" She said back to him. "But. . . . Everyone. . . You have to let me get this chance to have my wish fulfilled, regardless if anyone agrees with it or not. If I don't ever see him in person, then what else can I do?"

Red is feeling another urge to cry again. "But, you're Hylia's favorite princess. . . Why will you give your pretty tail away?"

Hoshimi sighed. "Well, I guess all I can say that my life of living in the Great Sea isn't worth living. It's hardly much of a benefit for me, probably."

Zelda began to ask her. "But what about. . ."

"The Pearl of Din?" She said before she can finish her question. "Well, maybe father isn't going to let me have it, would he? Maybe I'm not worthy for it after all. If I'm not the right person for it, then who else would it be? Well, maybe in time, who knows who will have it. It could be either one of you guys or, probably Keir or Shrakah."

Then she turned to Shadow Link. "Now, I think now is the time to take me to him, Shadow."

He smiled and bowed lightly. "With pleasure, your highness."

So, they all went to the front door of the castle. It's pretty locked up and it's guarded with a large and frightful looking craw fish with sharp teeth on its lips. Shadow knocked on it first. Then the craw fish made a hiss as it moved over to one side of the door, allowing it to open up for them. Once it's opened, he gestured to Hoshimi. "After you."

Hoshimi took one small awkward look at him, then gestured her siblings to follow her inside.

As soon as they're all in with Shadow, the door quickly shut itself behind them.

Inside the lobby of the castle, most of the atmosphere is darkened, except for a few dim amber lamps which are glowing a bit from the walls.

The Princess looked around the large room, then asked Shadow. "Where is he?" She's wondering if there is ever a welcoming committee from the Sea Wizard. But now, she's not too surprised to see that he's not around in this room. However, she can hear a haunting and wrathful melody of a pipe organ resonating throughout the castle.

"I'll bring you to him." He answered smirking again.

So, everyone followed him to where the wizard can be located. Later on, they're now at the third storey floor of the castle and they are now in front of a large door that has two handled knockers and decorated with a particular aerial on the front. It must be a mark that belonged to the Gerudo Tribe from the surface of the sea. The sound of the organ's melody became much louder than from downstairs.

After they're at the door, Hoshimi can feel the top half of her Triforce mark vibrating on the back of her hand. She didn't have a clue of why it's vibrating. _"The Triforce on my hand is acting strange all of a sudden. But what?"_ She thought to herself.

Shadow Link knocked on the door with one of the handled knockers. Then he received his expected answer.

"Yes? Who is it?" Answered the voice from whom everyone behind the shadowy boy remembers.

Link, Zelda, Blue, Red, and Vio glanced closely towards Hoshimi to stay by her side.

Shadow answered the voice. "My lord, I've brought in the Princess you would like to meet. She would also have her siblings with her, if you won't mind."

There is another small pause before the voice answered back. "Not at all. You may present her to me, Shadow Link."

He chuckled for a small moment before opening the door to what's waiting before them.

Hoshimi, Link, Zelda, Blue, Red, and Vio entered the room after Shadow Link. As he closed the door behind them, they looked around the room they just stepped into. On one side, there's a bookshelf with many books that contain secrets and information about the magic of Hyrule, The Great Sea, and the Gerudo. Next to the shelf, on the wall was a large cabinet. Against another wall across from the bookshelf are many chests and trunks, big and small filled with rare treasure and other lost items that can hold undiscovered wealth. From every corner of the room, there are many urns and old pottery. On the walls were a few sinister decorations that can match the architecture of the castle. On the floor at the center of the room was a large black cauldron as well. Across from the cauldron was the large pipe organ that is resonating the dark song from a while ago and the one who's at the organ is the widely known wizard from the tribe of the Gerudo, Ganondorf!

Hoshimi and her siblings paused at their slow swimming for they're about to meet the man who all of Hylia feared.

Shadow Link kneeled before his master and announced. "Ganondorf, my lord. I have brought with me to you, Princess Hoshimi of Hylia."

The man at the pipe organ, Ganondorf stopped his song, stood up from the stool and turned to meet his awaited guests. Once he saw her, he made an evil smile and chuckled softly.

Hoshimi, herself isn't quite sure of why he's chuckling all of a sudden, but she's certain that it doesn't sound too pleasing. Not for her liking. With her siblings still staying close to her, she knows that this devilish wizard hasn't changed since he was banished to this part of the sea.

Ganondorf just walked down from his organ and began saying. "Ah! Youngest daughter of the great King Thor, I do bid you welcome! Heh heh. You still look wonderfully beautiful as ever."

Hoshimi stiffened herself before answering. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Ganondorf? I'm surprised that you're still living here in this ocean."

"Oh? Not feeling so cheerful right now, are we?" He asked her, amused that she still remembers what he almost did with her since he wanted her father's crown. Then, he notices her brothers and sister. "Oh, hah hah. Well, that's awfully thoughtful. Your siblings were here with you because of their worry of you coming here through the perilous seaweed groves."

Link and the others weren't too amazed about seeing him either. They kept their stern gazes at him.

Hoshimi then spoke. "I'm sure hoping that you're not forgetting about the reason why you're not at the palace anymore. You do remember what you did with me back then, do you?"

Ganondorf thought of what she said to him, then grinned. "Ah! Yes, yes. The time I almost used you to get to your father's position. Yes. I do remember."

"Still! There's absolutely no way I can forgive you!" She said to him.

"Oh, I'm sure he's changed about that, Princess." Shadow spoke to her with his silk-like voice again, wrapping up Hoshimi with his arms.

Then, Blue pried him off her. "Oh! Get your filthy hands off of her!"

"Really?" He asked him, trying to look innocent. "I just washed them, this morning."

"Why you. . .!" Now, he's about to do what he usually wanted to do.

"Stop this now, Blue!" Said the princess, irritably.

Ganondorf then clapped his hands to stop the situation before it can get anywhere messy. "All right, all right." As soon as they're quiet, he start speaking again, walking his way to Hoshimi. "Let's all get ourselves to business like civilized mer-hylians, shall we?"

Blue glanced backwardly to the rest of the Royal Siblings and Shadow swam back to his place.

Once he met up with Hoshimi, he is still smiling at her, which did made her feel a bit uncomfortable a bit. "Now, I do know the reason why you're here in my domain. You have a certain you need you want me to fulfill, is it not?"

Hoshimi blinked. _"How. . . How can he know that?"_ She swallowed a bit before answering his question. "Well. . . Yes. I do."

"I thought so." He chuckled again. "I know you do. You are having certain feelings for a young prince from the kingdom of Hyrule. I happen to agree with you, dear. He is quite a jewel for a future king! I suppose you come all this way for only one thing. You want me to change your fish tail into a pair of legs, that way you can easily get well with walking like an ordinary Hylian. Am I right, child?"

She answered slowly and a bit uneasily. "Yes. . . yes you're right on that. I do have that wish. So, by whatever use you'll have, I want it to be granted."

Ganondorf grinned. "Heh heh heh. Do say no more, fair one. You should know that the solution to this need is as simple as it is. I will grant your wish for you. Turning you into a Hylian girl is not as hard as it looks, you know."

Hoshimi smiled a bit at his answer. "Oh! That will be grateful."

"Yes. Yes." Blue said silently. "Talk first, grant the wish next, get out. Talk first, grant the wish next, get out. . ." He chanted.

Then, the wizard began to tell the Princess. "However, I must warn you, child. Yes, I can turn you into a Hylian girl. But, you can only maintain that physical form for _three days. _Three suns and three moons. Here is the most important part that I want you to listen to very carefully." He extended his hand to her and an clear orb formed from it with his magic.

Hoshimi glanced towards him closely to see what he's talking about.

First he showed her three glowing orbs of golden light. "Before the conclusion of your trial and the setting of the third sunset, you need to complete the majority of getting this young boy into taking a great interest in you." Then he showed her what's next. He showed her a glowing white vision of her meeting Shining Link. "By all means. . ." He continued. "He has to kiss you. But not in an ordinary way, but in the means of pure love!" The two forms of light then fused into one hot pink heart, resembling what he just said to her.

"Oh. . ." The young princess was amazed.

Link and the others looked at each other about why this wizard is willing to help her.

Shadow Link however is only watching with a smile on his lips. Secretly annoyed though, at the fact that she is only in love with the Prince of Hyrule.

The magic upon Ganondorf's hand disappeared before he continued his explanation. "Now, here's the catch, princess. If he does kiss you before the third sunset, the affects of the potion I'll give you will remain permanently in you. That way, you'll stay as a Hylian forever and ever. However, if he doesn't seem to have a romantic interest in you in any which way, you will turn back into your natural form by the light of the third sunset. Then from there. . ." He began to lay his hand upon her cheek. "You should turn yourself to me. . ."

Much to her disgust, she didn't like the way he's touching her with his calloused hand. She then moved it away. Plus, she is surprised about what he said to her if her prince doesn't love her by the end of the third day.

Link and the others were also shocked. "Ho. . . Hoshimi! You mustn't accept this!" He cried.

"He's right so, don't believe him!" Vio exclaimed also. He began to swim over to her. "He does have magic for your wish, but he also has something to do about it!"

Before he can reach her, Shadow Link blocked his way with a stern expression on his face, making the violet prince glance backwards. "I'm afraid you and your lot don't have a say in the matter for this deed."

"But. . ."

Red began to whine again. "I don't like this offer either! Let's just go home!"

"Oh, no. Not yet." Said Shadow, smiling. "The offering has just begun."

Ganondorf chuckled at the reaction of the princes. Then he looked back at Hoshimi. "So, Hoshimi. My dear Moorish Idol, do we have a deal?"

The princess thought carefully about the information he gave her and spoke slowly. "I suppose so. I'm beginning to understand this. Once I've turned into a Hylian girl, I might not be able to dive back into the Great Sea and I won't be able to see my father, the Six Maidens, Shrakah, Keir. . ." Then she turned to her Link, Vio, and the others. "Or my siblings as often as I used to."

"Yes. You're correct on that." The wizard agreed.

"But. . ." Shadow spoke. "You will be happy with your Prince Charming."

_"Prince Charming?"_ She thought irritably while staring at him.

"Life is always full of complicated choices isn't it, Princess?" He said to her again.

"I prefer Hoshimi." She said to him with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Now. . ." Ganondorf started again, preparing his cauldron. As soon as Hoshimi turned her attention back to him. "Before we can begin your transformation dear, there's one thing that should be done. This is going to be exchanged for a simple payment, I hope you'll understand."

"But, you see, I don't have much that I can spend on." She said to him.

"I'm not asking for money." Said the wizard. "The only price I will demand for this deed from you is something precious that you hold the most."

Hoshimi is now questioned with that statement. "What is it?"

Ganondorf smirked, tilting her chin up. "Princess Hoshimi. In order to let me fulfill your wish, you have to give up your voice."

Her eyes widened when she heard what he said to her. "My. . . My voice?"

"Her voice?" Gasped Link, Zelda, Vio, Red, and Blue all together in unison.

"Yes." He said. "The fabulous voice of the lovely princess of all the Great Sea is the price that shall be payed. Hoshimi, you do have a gifted talent for song, and your voice happens to be the most valued treasure that you, your family, and all in the Kingdom of Hylia hold so dearly."

"But. . . But. . ." She tried speaking, glancing back a bit while placing her hands around her throat. "Without it, how am I going to speak to Shining Link if you take it away from me?"

"There are other ways of communication, Princess." He answered.

Shadow Link also pitched in. "You can at least try speaking to him with what you have! Your eyes, your cute, and also your body language!" He even starts laughing.

Hoshimi made a cringing look once he did so.

He stopped laughing and began telling her. "Surely, a beautiful thing like you can even entertain that Prince without the use of her voice. Being quiet is what most girls can do when it comes to love. Oh! You shall not forget that once you have obtained the legs you need, you'll be able to dance with him!"

His lord even chuckled with him in agreement to what he said to her.

Hoshimi just remained still as she thought about the payment for the potion. The joy of seeing her prince, admiring her singing voice is one of the last things she ever wanted. She lowered her head as her hands turned into fists.

Shadow took notion about what she's doing. He moved his face up close to hers. "Oh? What's this? Are you hesitating already? Ha! How cute! Let me ask you something, Princess. Is it so hard for you to part from your family? Or is it the thought of turning back into a mermaid and surrendering yourself to Lord Ganondorf that makes you doubt your wish?"

Then, with her courage to accept the consequences of what will happen through her trial, Hoshimi looked up to Shadow and Ganondorf through a sense of a risk taker in her eyes, she made her answer. "If I were to meet what will happen at the end of my time limit as a Hylian, then be it so! With whatever magic you're capable of, Ganondorf, you must do it! No matter what! Regardless how strong the transformation shall be, I will not flinch! Please make me into a Hylian girl!"

Ganondorf smiled. The princess has finally accept the strong, risky offer for her wish! "Then, it's decided!" He declared proudly. As he did, his cauldron blew out the first strong flame of dark violet light! "Very brave of you, Princess Hoshimi!"

"YES!" Shadow Link exclaimed with delight!

"Now! Your voice!" The wizard drew Hoshimi closer to him with his magic, pulling her towards his arms and caught her by her shoulders once she's at the right place. As he held her, a dark aura surrounded the princess. It's from the magic he's using right now.

Now, all that Link and his siblings can do is to watch their favorite sister turn into something that they'll rarely recognize about her.

_"Oh, Hoshimi. . ." _Link thought. He couldn't believe his own sister taking such a huge risk to become something else and he, Zelda, and the others won't be able to hear her beautiful voice again for a while. If the spell is going to remain permanently after she and Shining Link confessed their love as what the wizard said, he is going to miss her. He's not even sure of what the maidens or his father will say when the youngest princess of Hylia isn't with them anymore.

While being wrapped by this strong aura that's disabling her ability to move her limbs, Hoshimi's mind spoke bravely. _"Be strong, Hoshimi. . . Be strong. . ."_ Then she began to think about those who are still at her home, the Royal Palace. _"Father, Maidens, Shrakah and Keir, I'm sorry. . ."_

Ganondorf announced to her for the first part to start for the process of changing her from a Mer-Hylian to a Hylian. "Now, start singing!"

With that said, Hoshimi began to sing the well-known Song of Time. _"~Oh, unmoving time, no past, no present, no future. . . Time was swallowed by the great man-eating demon from the west. . . A brave knight was called upon. . . To fight that horrible beast. . . He took up sword and battled the great demon. . . From the beast's armor, an instrument formed. . .~"_

Once she sang the song, a glowing sphere was formed in her throat! It's her voice! Ganondorf wasted no time by wrapping his hand around her throat, holding it gently. Then he used his second hand to cover her mouth. Carrying her voice with his first hand, he slowly moved it up her throat and up to the chamber in her mouth.

During this process, Hoshimi winced a bit for she can feel a bit of pain, for that her voice was being disconnected from her throat.

Now, Ganondorf released her from his grip as he held her voice in his hands. "Beautiful. . ." He whispered as it shone brightly up to his eyes.

"Oh. . ." Zelda held on to Link's shoulders as she saw her sister's voice being claimed in the possession of the infamous wizard.

Vio happened to feel a tingle through his eyes as a bit of his tears came out after seeing what happened. _"Hoshimi. . ."_ He thought.

Shadow Link brought him a small treasure box and his master placed the princess' voice inside for keeping.

Hoshimi did feel a bit weak from being held by Ganondorf's magic. As she slowly got herself to sit up, she tried speaking, but not a word came out of her! Her voice is gone! She already took the toll of paying for the potion with her valued possession.

Now, Ganondorf opened his cabinet, took out a few ingredients for the potion and starts working on what she needs as he dropped them into the cauldron.

Hoshimi watched as the wizard works his way through the spell.

After a few minutes, the potion inside the cauldron is ready. Ganondorf took out a cup and scooped a cupful of the potion from the cauldron. Then he offered it to the princess. "Here. Now, drink this within one swallow and you'll become the being you want to be."

Hoshimi took the cup from him. She looked at the red liquid that's inside for a bit. She's feeling a bit uneasy at first, but she need to fulfill her wish at this last step. She slowly brought the cup up to her lips. Then, slowly, with one swallow, she drank down the potion.

Once that's done, a sharp jolt struck her from inside her throat. It made her drop the cup and fall to the floor, shaking a little. As she laid on the floor, shaking and holding her throat, strong warm heat began to build up through her body. From inside her tail, an ultimately strong shock of pain began spreading throughout. To her, it really felt like if there's a sharp instrument cutting her tail in half from the inside.

Then, another jolt struck her from inside. The pain was so bitter and strong, she can feel her inner consciousness screaming inside her mind and soul, even when her voice was gone.

When the third jolt struck her, her heart skipped a beat! Still holding her throat, Hoshimi slowly looked down at her tail with her eyes forming a bit of tears. The shining starlit white color is beginning to turn crimson red as it began to ache, succumbing to the effects of the potion! More pain began to spread from her fins and all the way up to her head from the inside! Although she felt an urge to do so, Hoshimi knew she couldn't scream for she doesn't have her voice. She began to breathe irregularly but now, her ability to breathe in water is slowly being stripped out of her. She even began to imagine this thought as the bones in her tail are slowly snapping in two, she'll later on see her own blood coming out, not knowing if her own legs will appear. At least that's what she doubts it would happen.

Right now, all Link and his siblings can do is to stay at their spot, watching their sister suffering the great pain of her transformation. They can even hear her inner consciousness screaming too!

"Gyaah! Hoshimi!" Red shrieked, trying to cover his teary eyes from the sight.

_"Oh! Younger sister of mine!"_ Vio's mind exclaimed again. _"Never did I know that you are in so much pain right now!"_

Zelda buried her face unto Link's chest as he held her in his arms. She couldn't bear to see her sister suffering the effects.

Link, himself tried his best to never look away from what's happening to his sister. Though deep down inside, he is feeling a bit scared of seeing her feeling pain.

_"Geez! By the name of the Three Goddesses!"_ Thought Blue, trying his best to keep control of his urge to pull out his sword and strike Ganondorf. _"Now, I can't tell if this warlock is transforming her or poisoning her!"_

Shadow Link smirked as he watched Hoshimi struggling through her pain.

Ganondorf on the other hand is now chuckling in pleasure while watching the princess making effortless moves, trying to cope with the pain of the transformation. _"This is a momentous occasion! This princess is definitely a wonderful asset for the next part of my plan!" _He thought evilly.

At this last phase of the transformation, from one more painful jolt, Hoshimi's body began to jerk a bit. While lying down, she can feel that the pain in her was slowly subsiding. She is also beginning to feel drowsy too. Her vision is starting to become blurry through her eyes. But from looking down at her tail, she can see it has turned rustic brown and is beginning to crumble up, like a molted shell of a crab. She saw only one small glimpse of this crumbling tail falling apart and revealing her new pair of legs. Though she kept her white tank top, she's now wearing a pair of white knee length pants below her torso. Then after that moment, her vision began to black out as she started to faint. In other words, since she's now a Hylian, she can no longer breathe in water like she used to.

After the transformation is done, Ganondorf began to laugh loudly while Shadow made a broad smile.

With no time to lose, Link announced to his brethren as he quickly swam over to his sister who's still lying on the floor. "Hurry everyone! We need to bring her up to the surface! Up to where the Prince of Hyrule lives!"

"Yes! We must!" Vio declared too.

"How will we bring her up there? She doesn't have fins anymore!" Asked Red with worry.

"We have to carry her! She's unconscious!" He said back.

So, everyone took hold of Hoshimi's body together and brought her up while she's still in her slumber. Then, they all took her out of the castle and outside into the dark ravine of the sea.

"All right!" Said Link. "On the count of three, let's all swim up to the surface! That way, she'll get some air later on!"

"Right!" Everyone agreed.

"Okay! One. . . Two. . . Three!" Then all together, they hastily swam up to the water's surface. Upward and onward they swam without a stop until they finally made it!

Now, as soon as they saw the coast near Castle Town at Hyrule, the next thing they have to do is to carry Hoshimi to the beach. From there, they'll have to wait until Shining Link comes.

Back at his castle, Ganondorf continued to chuckle while smiling proudly.

After a small moment of silence, Shadow Link folded his arms and spoke. "Well, master? It's a success! The potion really turned her into a Hylian girl! Considering Part One of our plan, accomplished!"

"Of course, Shadow. Of course!" Said the wizard. "But that's only the beginning. Right now, she has no idea of what our main purpose is. The thing we should hope for right now is to make sure she doesn't confess her love, though. Aside from that, you did a wonderful job, Shadow. For keeping our secret purpose hidden, by all means, of course."

"Oh! Shucks toward nothing, my lord! You're too much! I'm embarrassed already! Ha ha!" He said, laughing.

Then, Ganondorf spoke once more. "And now, the next thing we should do is to wait until we will surely have what it takes to rule not only Hylia, but all of Hyrule! No being or animal in this world can ever overpower us! Not even King Thor, himself!"

With that said, both: the power hungry warlock and his sly servant began to laugh diabolically together!

* * *

M.S.K: Oh! Now that she has her wish, I wonder what will she do next. Well, we'll all find out when I post up the next chapter! Oh! I forgot to mention that I found those lyrics for the Song of Time somewhere. So, to whoever made them, I didn't mean to steal. So, I'll see you next time!

Red: And don't forget to leave a review or a comment!

M.S.K: Thanks, Red! I forgot all about saying that!


	10. Hoshimi in Hyrule

M.S.K: Whew! It took a while for me to edit and proof-read this thing. Right now, Hoshimi's on land and I have to figure out what she'll be doing on the next chapter. Right now, I'm watching Saint Seiya for a brief while. So, soon I'll get back to writing after some thinking time while I'm at it. So, um, Red?

Red: All rightie! Kaoru doesn't own anything about Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. It all goes to Nintendo. But, she does own her princess while the prince belongs to someone else by permission.

M.S.K: (Snuggles Red) Awww! You're always cute when you do that! Thank you soooo much!

Red: Aww! You're going soft now!

M.S.K: (Releases Red) Sorry. I'm usually like that whenever I'm excited about something. Anyway, do sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

* * *

Chapter 9: Hoshimi in Hyrule

On the beach near Hyrule Castle, a melody being played on an ocarina was heard. It came from Shining Link, sitting on a rock on the beach. He is playing the song that is from the girl who rescued him from drowning. But the problem is, he didn't have any idea it's from Hoshimi. In fact, he doesn't know her yet. Because of the song repeating in his mind day after day, he still hasn't found out whose voice it is and she didn't know who that girl is.

He let out a sigh for a moment, until a fairy glowing in white light came and start hovering around his head.

She asked him. "Shining Link, was there something troubling you already? You were playing beautifully just now. Also, you were like this ever since you came back. What's wrong?"

"It's. . . It's about this voice, Snow." He answered her.

"A voice?" Snow, the fairy asked him.

"Yes." He got up from the rock and stared out into the ocean. Then he let out another sigh. "It's been haunting my head every time I think about it. It's even in my dreams each night. I still don't know whose it is though."

"Oh?" The fairy wondered. "Is it about this mystery girl, you keep mentioning?"

Shining Link turned to her. "You know? I searched all of Hyrule, Snow. But, so far there's no sign. I wonder where she is. It's been two weeks and I haven't found her."

In the mean time, Link, Red, Vio, Blue, and Zelda have just made it to the other side of the beach. They just laid Hoshimi onto a rock for her to breathe in some air since they left Ganondorf's domicile. Now, everyone is exhausted from swimming up from below the water's surface. They all rested themselves on to another rock.

"Oh!" Red exclaimed. "I've never swam that much if I were in a lake."

"Well! For your information, we're nowhere near one!" Blue provoked.

"I'm just saying that!" He said back to him.

It wasn't too long before Hoshimi opened her eyes as if she woke up from a nap. The sunlight warmed her face and shone upon her eyes. She slowly sat up from lying upon the rock before rubbing her eyes.

"Ah!" Red is the first to notice that his sister is awake. Everyone else took notice after him.

"Hoshimi!" They all exclaimed in unison.

She looked at them and smiled.

"You're awake!" Link exclaimed.

She nodded, then she turned over her shoulder to look at what's behind her. It's Hyrule Castle, the home of her prince! She's on land right now. Then she looked down and took a look below. Her fish tail has been replaced with a pair of legs and a pair of white knee-length pants! Her smile broadened for the potion have worked successfully before she fainted not too long ago.

"Yes." Said Zelda. "You're not a Mer-Hylian anymore. Well, that's for sure."

Hoshimi shrugged. Then she heard a small familiar voice calling out in the air. "Hey! Hey! Hey!"

Everyone looked up and they saw Navi flying down to meet them! "Hey! Look what I'm seeing here!" She said cheerfully. She went up to Hoshimi first. "Well, now. It's nice to see you again, Hoshi. . ." Then she looked down and saw her new legs. "Oh. . . . Hoshimi? What on earth happened to your lovely tail? I doubt that you can ever swim around Hylia with these things you know. . ."

Before she can say anything else, Vio laughed a little, telling her. "They're Hylian's legs she received a while ago, Navi. Of course, she can't swim down to our homeland with them."

Navi took one more look at the princess' new legs and she is surprised! "Oh! Really? When did this happen?"

"It was a long story." Said Link. "We followed her to the Forbidden Seaweed Jungle where she's getting 'help' from Ganondorf."

"Seaweed Jungle? Ganondorf?" The fairy asked again. "Why, you guys shouldn't be swimming there. The kelp there are strong enough to tangle themselves on to a Mer-Hylian very easily and they can even wreck a ship. Plus, it's a home to utterly dangerous fish. And Ganondorf. How in the Great Sea did you all get involved with such a villainous magician?"

"His pawn, Shadow Link brought her into the idea of visiting him for help." Blue grumbled.

"Well, she said she needed it." Red added.

His blue-tailed brother continued. "She traded her voice to him in order to obtain those legs. It's for visiting a Hylian Prince!"

"I see. . . ." Navi even looked at Hoshimi and she nodded.

As Hoshimi tried standing up, Red explained the next set of facts to the fairy. "He gave her a really painful potion to turn her into a Hylian. In order to make the effects of the potion permanent, she's got to get the Prince to fall for her and after that, she has to get him into kissing her. It's a pretty simple plan, really. She's in love with him first, he's going to be in love with her next, and then, 'Chu'! After the kiss, the spell will remain on her for eternity!"

"But, to complete this task. . ." Said Link. "She has to get him to love her within three days. Because, that's the time limit of the potion."

Before she can stand up on her two feet perfectly, Hoshimi slipped on the muddy sea bed and fell upon the water.

"Oh dear!" Zelda exclaimed. "Are you all right, Hoshimi?"

She nodded for 'yes' and she is okay.

Navi wondered about this. "Well, that's going to be a big thing for her to handle. I wonder if the Maidens or King Thor were to. . ."

"What?" Blue shrieked when he heard her mentioning the Maidens and the King. "What are you saying, Navi? Do you have any idea of what this situation is? This is something that neither Father nor the Maidens know of! We didn't even asked him to go visit that sea devil wizard!"

"You're quite right on that Blue." Said Link. "But, I don't think. . ."

But, before he can say anything else, his panicked brother shrieked again. "This is big, big, big trouble for all of us now for Farore's sake! What will he say? No! No! I figured it out! I _do_ know what he's going to say! He's going to punish us all and take away our Pearls of Farore and Naryu! That's what he'll say! You know what guys? I'm going to swim back to the palace right away, without wasting another second or two and tell him everything what we've been through!"

"What?" Everyone exclaimed except Hoshimi who is surprised from her eyes.

"Why should we let father know about this?" Vio provoked. "Hoshimi has been through enough trouble to fulfill her own need. She even gave away her voice for it too, I hope you know."

But Blue hissed. "Try and stop me, but everything out of the ordinary is to be reported!"

Hoshimi quickly grabbed his arm and shook her head.

"And don't you say 'no' on that too, girl!" He said to her.

"But Blue! You can't breathe a single word about this!" Exclaimed Zelda. "No one in Hylia should know. Not even Father or the Maidens. Nor would Shrakah and Keir!"

After what she said, Blue began to think. "Hmm. Well, perhaps there is still some time left in our hands. I think I got just the thing." He turned to Hoshimi. "Perhaps, we can at least get that wizard into giving your voice back, then we can take you home as normal Mer-Hylian Princess again and. . ." He then sees her face becoming stern again. "And. . . And be a little love-less for the rest of your days. . ." After a small pause, he heaved a sigh of defeat. Defeat from seeing her face. "Okay. . . All right. . . I'll help you get that Prince with everyone else."

With that said, she gave him a cute-looking smile and gave him a hug. Then she slowly knee-crawled her way back to her rock.

Blue sighed again. "Oh, man. What a soft-shelled turtle I've become right now."

Red giggled when he said that. He wrapped his arms around his brother's waist. "That's what makes you my loving brother! I always knew that underneath this hard, crispy, rough shell, there's a soft, spongy, puffy inside in you!"

"Red! Cut it out!" He provoked, trying to pry him off again.

"Won't mind if I call you Brother Blue?" He just asked.

"Argh!"

Then, Navi can sense that another fairy with a Hylian is slowly approaching. "Oh! Quickly everyone! We must get ready! The Prince and another fairy I happened to know is coming any minute!"

"Ah!" Link gasped. "She's right! We cannot be seen here!" Then he turned to his sister. "Hoshimi! You lie there on that rock you're sitting on and pretend that you were washed up upon it. Act like you were shipwrecked."

She nodded.

"Come on, you guys!" Said Vio. "Everybody underwater!"

Before she can join her brothers, Zelda went up to her sister. "Here. You should have this with you." She handed Hoshimi, her white ocarina.

Hoshimi blinked at first. Then she quickly took it and hid it in her pocket.

"Whenever you need to see us, play our family's lullaby on it and we'll be up to see you." She instructed. After her sister nodded to her, she quickly swam back to the others.

So, the Royal Children of Hylia dove into the water to hide and Hoshimi laid down on her rock to pretend she's unconscious. Navi then hid away underwater too.

Later after that, Snow flew through the air and spotted Hoshimi lying on her rock. Then she flew around Shining Link's head, crying. "Prince! Prince! I found something! You must see it!"

"Huh? What is it, Snow?"

"I can't explain! Follow me!" She said flying off to the spot on the beach where she found the princess.

"Snow! Wait for me!" The Prince called out, running after the fairy. "I can't run as fast as you can flutter your wings!"

As soon as he met up with her on that spot, he asked her after catching his breath. "What's gotten into you, Snow?" Then she showed her the girl that's lying on one of the rocks. "Huh? Ah!" He quickly went up to the rock and held her in his arms. Then he patted her cheek. "Hey, are you all right, miss? Wake up."

Hoshimi opened her eyes and saw him. Her prince! He's even holding her in his arms.

He sighed with relief. "Oh, thank the Goddesses, you're okay. You nearly scared me. It seems you must have been shipwrecked. You poor thing."

She just smiled at him as they both looked at each other.

Shining Link blinked. "Uh, You look a bit familiar, some how? Do we meet?"

Hoshimi quickly nodded her head for her answer.

The prince smiled a delightful smile and gasped. "I knew it! You're the one I'm searching for. I haven't told you who I am yet. I'm Prince Shining Link of Hyrule. Will you tell me your name, please?"

But, when she tried to speak it out to him, not a sound came out from her lips. She almost forgotten that her voice is gone as a price for the potion to become a Hylian. In that, she couldn't speak to him. She solemnly laid her hand around her throat.

The prince tilted his head to wonder why she didn't made her answer. "Hmm? Is there something wrong?"

Hoshimi made a sad look in her eyes as she held her throat in order to tell him her problem.

"Are you mute?" He asked her.

She nodded.

With silent dismay, he then said. "Oh, I see. Then. . . you might not be what I thought you'll be." But, he brightened up. "But, you can write. Can you?"

She nodded her head again.

Shining Link grabbed a small stick and gave it to her. "Here. Write your name on the sand."

Hoshimi slid down from her rock and wrote it down on the sand as she dragged the stick on it with her hand.

Once she's done, Shining Link read. "Hoshimi. . ." Then he turned to her. "Is that your name?"

She nodded once more for her answer.

"I see. It's very beautiful for you by the way it sounds." He complimented.

When she heard his praise, she began to blush a little. She even smiled too. _"I've been praised! He liked it!"_ She thought.

"I like it too." Said Snow as she flew around her.

Hoshimi stared at the little white fairy and turned at the prince with a questioned look.

He answered her. "Oh. That's Snow. She's the family's fairy. Frankly, she's been around me from time to time."

Hoshimi shrugged and smiled at the same time to say that it's kind of cute to her opinion.

"Speaking of which. . ." Said the Prince again. "We should get back to my home, the castle to have you see them. I'll even let you meet my confidante, Sheik." Then he took her hands in his. "Do you think you're strong enough to get up and walk?" He asked her.

Well, Hoshimi began to stand up with his aid, she almost had her stance. But she happened to feel a sting of pain as she got up on her feet, causing her to lose her balance and almost fall back on to the sand.

Shining Link quickly caught her in his arms. "Woah! Oh my. Are you all right?"

Hoshimi nodded and she tried to start walking on her own. But every time she took a step, she felt the same sting again. It kept repeating every time she made her first steps. To her, it felt like she was treading on a field of knives and it hurt very much. She winced silently and began to fall again.

"Woah! Woah! Easy there!" The Prince exclaimed again as he caught her once more. He brought her up to his gaze and said. "Goodness. I believe you must have been through something that is pretty rough on you, somehow. But, no need to worry. I'll help you over on our way. We'll even help hospitalize you."

As the gentle prince helped her walk their way to the castle, Hoshimi can see her siblings and Navi appearing from their hiding spot at the beach. They all waved at her to tell her to take care of herself while they stay behind for her. After she nodded at them, they all disappeared into the sea.

Hoshimi continued to walk with the Prince to the castle. Then they were met with a pretty looking maid at the door.

She ran up to them and greeted. "Welcome back, your highness!"

Shining Link chuckled. "Liliana. You don't have to address formalities to me every time. Call me by name."

"But, your highness. You're the Prince of Hyrule. So, there's no way I can call you by your given name according to your status."

"It's all right. There's no law about it, right? So, go ahead and address me by my name."

The woman sighed and said. "All right. Shining Link. Welcome home." Then she notices Hoshimi. "Oh! Who's this?"

He turned to her. "Ah, this is Hoshimi. Snow and I found her washed up on to the beach a while ago. She is also mute so, she may not be able to speak. But she can write for us to know what she's saying."

"Oh dear! You poor girl! Washed up from a sunken boat? How unfortunate." Liliana said. "We have to bring her inside and treat her up before we can take her to see the King and Queen."

"Yes we should." The Prince agreed. "Prepare a bath for her and help her get comfortable."

"Right away." As she took Hoshimi inside the castle, she spoke to her. "Now, you're Hoshimi, right?"

She nodded at her.

"What a pretty name! I'm Liliana. The Prince's nursemaid. We'll all make you feel right at home in no time, dear. So, I'll help draw a nice bath for you."

Well, Hoshimi knows that adapting to life on dry land may not be easy. But, above that, she feels happy to be with Shining Link and she felt accepted by people like Liliana, even though she's not a Hylian in truth.

While Hoshimi is getting replenished by staff of Hyrule Castle, Link, Zelda, Blue, Red, Vio, and Navi were all underwater still. But they're not near Hylia right now.

"Hoshimi does look like being around that Prince will surely keep her safe. He's even friendly with her. Very friendly." Said Zelda.

"I think we should remain here in order to stay in touch with Hoshimi." Said Link.

"Yeah. We should." Agreed Vio. He notices that they're below a coastal sea cliff that's not too far from the beach they left their sister at. "This will be the perfect spot to stay. We can easily swim from here and over to the area where the castle is."

"Great." Said Blue. "But where are we going to stay around here?"

"Right here!" Said Red. He is pointing to a little cave that's at the very bottom of the cliff. "We can shelter here."

"You found shelter so quick?" His blue garbed brother exclaimed. He didn't expect him to find it in a short time.

"Good going, Red!" Squealed Navi.

"Good! Good!" Said Link. "Now, we need to put some sea sand along the floor of the cavern."

"Sand?" Asked Vio.

"Well, need to sleep comfortably for it may be difficult to sleep on the rocky ground. Am I right?" He said.

"Well, I guess it makes sense. Let's all get to it."

So, the Princes and the Princess worked together to construct their hideout so they can keep their eyes on their younger sister while she's away. They will also be gone from their real home for a while. They all gathered enough sand to make the seafloor of the cave more comfortable and they even weaved more than enough kelp leaves to make beddings for themselves. But, the hardest part about the blanket weaving process is to make sure that those leaves and fronds are infested with nematodes or sea urchins. They even got a big rock to close the entrance of the cavern when it's time for sleeping.

When their little hideout is finally finished, Link sighed. "Phew! We've done it!"

"Yeah. But how are we going to eat while being here for the next two days?" Asked Blue. "I would highly believe that we'll become sea banshees if we don't get enough food. Or else, it will be a low blood sugar meltdown for me!"

"There's no need to worry about that." Said Vio. "We can always hunt some squid, scallops, and sunlight zone fish for food."

"I believe we're completely settled." Said Red.

"But, our biggest job is to make sure Hoshimi wins that prince." Said Zelda. "Or else if she doesn't, she'll be heading for disaster."

Red began to sniffle a bit. "If. . . I'm sorry. . . If she does marry him, I'm going to miss her!"

Everyone sighed with him upon his statement.

"We might." Said Vio with a small smile. Then his smile began to turn into a stern frown. "But, I'm having a slight feeling that Ganondorf might be after something and he could be using this deal as an essential to it. I wonder what. . ."

Then, Blue growled pulling out his hammer again. "If he is after something and if it's Hoshimi, then I'm going to have to. . ."

Before he can say anything else, Zelda smacked him on the head. "Ow! What was that for?" He asked back.

"Don't try that again, please!" She said to him.

"Well, excuuuuuuuse me, Princess!" He provoked.

"Blue!" Red cried.

Link just shook his head and sighed while Vio face-palmed himself. Then he looked up to the surface and thought. _"Hoshimi. . . Don't let the prince lose interest in you, no matter what."_

* * *

M.S.K: Well, that's all for this chapter. But, the story, itself is not over just yet! More is going to be coming soon! So, do feel free to leave a review or a comment too. Boy! I am beginning to become less talkative than I used to. Anyway, I'll see you next time! Jya na!

Navi: Hey!

M.S.K: Yessie?

Navi: May I ask you this? Have you ever played a Zelda game before?

M.S.K: Oh. . . . It's hard to explain, frankly. I played Link, Sheik, Zelda, and Toon Link on several occasions on Super Smash Brothers Brawl. But, never in my life, I've ever played a Zelda game.

Navi: Eh? You mean you never played one at all?

M.S.K: Well, I want to. But I think it will be tough. But, if I ever start with Ocarina of Time, it will be worth of trying!

Navi: You should.


	11. Meeting the Family

M.S.K: (Singing) _~I love you for who you are. . . You, who are my lucky star. . . I will love you now and forever. . . I won't leave you. . .~_

Blue: (Pats her head roughly)

M.S.K: Itai! What was that for?

Blue: Aren't you suppose to be doing something? You were writing on this thing for a long time! What took you?

M.S.K: Okay! I'm sorry! I'll get started, so just relax yourself. (Ahem) Hello! How are you all doing? It feels good to be back. I'm sorry I'm a little slow with this chapter. I got stuck in the middle and plus, things were holding me up. I've been doing some baking recently, and I was preparing for an upcoming event that will happen in a few months. Plus, it seemed that my Hetalia fever has gotten stronger on me, if you all know what I mean. Also, I've seen two trailers on a new Zelda game and another game. And I've been watching Rio and Galaxy Express 999 lately. But, enough of that. Now I will present you this new chapter and I will keep writing, so don't worry. So, Blue?

Blue: Yes! Kaoru doesn't own anything about Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. She only owns her own characters for this story and everything else belongs to the masters of Nintendo.

M.S.K: Arigatou, Blue. Now, grab a seat, sit back, relax, and enjoy the story so far.

Blue: So, what's been keeping you?

M.S.K: (Anime vein pops up) What I said just now _are_ the things that kept me from writing!

* * *

Chapter 10: Meeting the Family

"Haaah. . ." Shadow Link sighed as he twirled around his finger, controlling the swirling violet aura of shadows with his magic. He's able to control most of his own dark powers with only one finger. He would even practice some of the magic he shared with Ganondorf. Currently, he doesn't have anything else to do since he wasn't called by his master for the rest of the day. He have already done his job of bringing the youngest princess of Hylia to his world. In other words, reeling her in. "Hoshimi. . ." He said to himself while forming a rather malicious smirk on his lips.

His magic began to form a round frame around a futuristic image. An image of Hoshimi in formal garments that can only be worn by young women of the Mer-Hylian culture. They're in a black color to suit his liking.

Shadow stared longingly at the image he formed before him. He could even imagine having Hoshimi all to himself right now, dressed up just like that, just for him! He would also imagine changing her tail color into black like his, and leave the ivory color alone for her hair. He even grinned as he looked into the little picture with his ruby red eyes. "Haah. . . Beautiful. . . Just beautiful. . . ."

Later on, back on land, Hoshimi is bathing in a wonderfully large ivory stoned bath tub that's decorated with marble carved figures of fishes and waves. Among these figures are also the Three Goddesses revolving around the Triforce. Never before did she bathe in a tub this big. A tub that's bigger than the one at her home. What's more exciting for her is she never bathed with soap bubbles on the bath water's surface before. At home, instead of bathing in water, she bathed in sea foam.

Unlike bathing herself back in the sea, she had Liliana, the nursemaid to help her get cleaned up. She helped her by washing her hair and polishing her skin.

While giving Hoshimi's hair a really good rinse, Liliana spoke to her. "My, oh my! Lady Hoshimi, dear! You have wonderful hair! It's so shiny and long! I've never seen anyone here in the Kingdom of Hyrule with such a wonderful shade of white in their hair before. It's almost like Shining Link's."

Hoshimi smiled warmly. She really enjoyed that compliment. Then she saw a young girl coming the doorway of the bathroom.

The girl is about her age and she looks really cute to her opinion. She had lovely blue eyes that really reminded her of her brothers. She had short blonde hair and she's wearing chiffon white dress with golden borderlines on the bottom of her short sleeves and the skirt.

"Here's the towel, mother." She said to Liliana.

Hoshimi blinked with curiosity. _"Mother?"_ Her mind asked.

Liliana turned from Hoshimi's hair and said. "Oh! Good. Good. Perfect timing." Then she forgot something. "Oh!" She turned back to Hoshimi and held the girl by her shoulders. "Lady Hoshimi, this is my daughter, Erune."

"Hello." The girl greeted with a smile.

Hoshimi nodded her head as it's now her way of saying 'hello' back.

Then, Liliana instructed her daughter. "Now, keep the lady company while I'll go and find some clothes for her. Okay?"

After Erune nodded, her mother left the bathroom. Then she looked back at the princess as she picked up the towel for her. "I believe you are now done, my lady."

So, Hoshimi slowly rose out of the tub. While doing so, she accidentally slipped back into the water! Luckily she didn't hurt herself on the slip. The water nearly sploshed out of the tub as well.

"Ah! Goodness! Are you okay?" She asked her.

Hoshimi finally got herself up and nodded her head.

Erune eventually helped her get up from the tub and handed her the towel so she can dry herself.

As soon as she's dry from head to toe, the girl asked her. "You're Hoshimi, right?"

She nodded for her answer as she tightened the towel around her. Then she went over to the counter to fetch pick up her pearl white ocarina.

Erune saw her instrument and complimented to her. "Oh my! What a cute ocarina! May I see?"

Hoshimi handed it to her so she can have a look.

"Oh. . . What a beautiful color. Pearl White. I've seen various ocarinas around Hyrule. But I've never seen it in such a pretty color." She said with a smile.

Hoshimi smiled too.

Then, Erune asked her a question. "You're awfully quiet."

She shrugged. Then her smile began to turn into a frown.

"What's wrong?" The sweet girl asked her. Next, she said. "Oh. I think I know what it is. You can't talk because you're mute, right?"

She slowly nodded her head.

"Well, I'm sure that being shipwrecked might be the thing. But, don't worry. I know what you're saying because of your body language." She said with a smile.

Hoshimi smiled too, for she is felt better after what she said to her.

Erune returned the ocarina to her and asked. "Say, can you play songs on that?"

The princess nodded. Then, she held the instrument's mouthpiece up to her lips and began playing her 'Dolphin Ring' song as Erune watched.

After she finished her song, Erune began applauding. "That's a very beautiful tune! What's it called?"

Hoshimi found a card and a pen and starts writing it down for her. Then she showed her new friend what she's written.

"Dolphin Ring." She read. "Is that it's name?"

Hohsimi nodded.

"It sounds cute!" She complimented sweetly.

The princess smiled too. _"She's so sweet and very nice. Just like her mother. My father would hardly let me out of the palace to visit the village in Hylia, and it's not every day you get to see a mer-hylian girl who's as sweet as her."_

In a moment, Liliana came back to the bathroom doorway, cheerfully saying. "Well now! You two became friends within a short time!"

Erune and Hoshimi looked over to her and smiled at her. "She can even play the ocarina, mother. She played a lovely song." She said to her.

"Really? That's wonderful. Now, Prince Shining Link and his family are eagerly waiting to see you, my dear." The woman said, carrying a pile of clothing to her. "First we have to get you dressed up."

So, Liliana dressed up Hoshimi for the meeting with Hyrule's King and Queen. Once she's done, she examined her for a bit.

What the princess is now wearing alongside with her head band-like tiara is a moonlight colored tunic over an ivory undershirt. She's also wearing ivory leggings and on her feet are a pair of boots. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she really looked a lot like her prince, despite her long ivory hair. It's almost as if she were the female version of him.

Liliana smiled. "Well now! Just as I thought. The prince's clothes fit you perfectly like a glove! And oh! You have just fine legs to fit those leggings."

"I think she looks pretty that way." Said Erune.

After she turned around from the mirror, Hoshimi began to blush a little.

The Prince's Nurse then spotted the jewelry on her tiara. "Hmm? Oh my! Take a look at this!" She rubbed the little diamond with her fingers. "I've never seen such a fine diamond on a tiara such as this one. It's pretty big too. Hmm. By the looks of it, are you by any chance, a princess from somewhere?"

Hoshimi nodded for 'yes'. Although she can't give out the secret that she's actually from the sea.

"Wow. . ." Erune was amazed about the now-silent princess' answer.

Liliana nodded. "Yes, you must be. Even Queen Raina, Shining Link's mother doesn't have a diamond that big."

Hoshimi shrugged. Then she removed the tiara from her head before showing it to the nurse maid for her to have a closer look at the diamond's shine. She even smiled too.

"What?" The lady asked as the girl took two steps closer to her in order to show her the diamond. Not knowing of what she's doing, Liliana shook her head. "Oh, heavens child. You don't need to give it to me."

Hoshimi's smile turned into a questioned expression. It's as if she can tell that this lady doesn't quite understand what she's doing since she's mute.

"It's very lovely. But thanks for the thought. Such treasures like that won't be able to fit the likes of me, to tell you the truth. I'm not really into fancy jewelry." Liliana said taking a glance. While eying on the princess who's putting her tiara back on, she thought to herself. _"Where in Hyrule did she come from, any how? She looks so extraordinarily lovely, her manners are too good for her to resemble a commoner from a fisherman's village. No, she has to come from a royal household. But, which one?"_ Then she felt a small urge to cry some how. _"Or maybe. . . since the prince found her lying on the beach, she must been out at sea with her family, and later on, she's been abducted by . . . pirates!"_

Then, Erune came up to her mother, noticing her tears. "Mother? What's wrong?"

"Oh!" That took her mother by surprise! She hastily turned around to meet her daughter. "Oh, what is that dear?"

"I saw you crying just now. So, what's making you do such a thing?" She repeated her question.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Let's bring this lady to the Prince and his family, now." She said, walking up to Hoshimi and taking her by the hand.

As they went out of the room, Erune followed.

Back in the deep, Navi is swimming about among some squid. She's actually helping the Four Princes hunt for food. So, squid happens to be the primary choice. Then she thought of something. _"I wonder how our princess is doing up there."_ She turned to the boys who are catching the small cephalopods. "Um, you guys can take care of the rest. I'm going up to check on your sister."

"You're really going to do that?" Asked Link. "I think Hoshimi will be fine up there. As long as she's reeling the prince in."

"Hmm. But, I'm going to make sure on that. So, I'll see you around dinner." She said to him. Then she said to the third prince. "Oh, and Blue?"

Well, Blue is trying to catch one of the squids for that Link, Red, and Vio have already caught a big amount of them and he's nowhere close. "Come here, you!" He said, chasing it.

Navi sighed. "Are you listening?" She called out.

"Got ya!" He exclaimed catching the squid. But it wriggled free out of his arms. "Oh! It got away!"

Everyone is watching him and his useless attempts to catch the little squid.

The seashore fairy sighed once more. "Oh. . . I guess he's busy at the moment. Just give him the message once he's done." Then she starts flying off.

After Link waved, Blue asked him. "So, what did I miss?"

"Oh, Navi wanted me to let you know that she's going off to check on Hoshimi. That's all." He answered. Then, he began to laugh a bit for he saw something.

"Hmm?" His brother asked him. "What are you laughing about, Green?"

While trying to hold his giggles, Link pointed to what's behind his brother's head. "Your. . . On your head! You got company!" He's referring to the squid from before and it's clinging himself on to the back of Blue's head.

"Eh?" Blue patted on the back of his head and he felt something pretty squishy. He pried it off and in his hand is the little squid he's been trying to catch. "Heh, what do you know? It's you again. Now, don't you get any ideas of making any escape attempts. You're an ingredient for life and you know it."

But, before he can do anything, the little squid squirted out a cloud of ink, enveloping Blue in it! Then, it quickly swam off.

After coughing for a while in the ink, Blue swam out of the cloud. "Barnacles!" He muttered. He even notices that there's a smudge of ink all over his face.

As Blue is trying to wipe the ink stains off his face with the sleeve of his undershirt, he heard some giggling coming from Red. He then glared at him, sharply for he's not too happy. "What are _you_ laughing at?" Well, that did scared his brother a little.

While flying above the beaches and marshy fields near the sea, Navi headed over to Hyrule Castle to see if she can find Hoshimi and see how she's doing for her first time on land. As she reached the castle, she found a large window that is overlooking the seashore as she flew above it. As she stopped to hover around it, she saw the prince, Shining Link, looking out towards the ocean. She can also see that he's in the main dining room with Sheik and his parents. There's also some conversation going on from where she's looking too.

The Queen of Hyrule, Raina asked her son. "Shining Link, dear? Do you really think you're quite certain that this 'mute girl' you found on the beach is the one who rescued you from drowning?"

Still looking out at the Great Sea from the window, he answered her. "I'm still not sure, mother. She does have the same eyes as the one who saved me but, she doesn't have the voice of her, though. I'm just not sure. . ." Practically, he's still doesn't realize the fact that Hoshimi _is_ the girl who saved him from the harm of the storm.

Snow, his fairy, flew over to the queen and said. "Well, to my perspective, something tells me that she might be the one he's looking for. I mean, one time ago, he told me that this mystery girl has long ivory hair. So, when found that girl lying on the rock from back there, I do think it's her, despite the fact she can't speak when talking to her."

"You really believe that, Snow?" The prince asked her.

"I'm positive." She answered.

Queen Raina turned to her husband, King Pheobus. "You think what she's saying might be true?"

"I don't know for sure." The king replied humbly.

He sighed again. "But still, I don't think it's her, because she didn't make a sound. The girl who saved me from drowning sang a song to me when I woke up. But, after I woke up, she disappeared."

"Ryuusei. . ." Said Sheik, calling him by his nickname. "You might have to reason up with the real fact about this. You see, it's not like everyday that a young girl about your age would swim around and rescue a person or two from the dangers of a stormy sea and then, vanish completely once the storm dies down."

Then, the prince turned to him. "Look, Sheik. I'm serious with this. She is a real person. I will find the girl who rescued me and as soon as I have done that, I'm going to marry her."

Well, from where Navi is looking from above, it looks like the Prince is serious about finding the one who rescued him. But, she didn't expect that he still doesn't know the real truth that she's in front of him, the moment he found her on the beach.

However, to put that thought aside, she can see the doors of the dining room opening.

Everyone in the room turned to see what's coming in from the doorway. Three people are about to come on in. There's even giggling too.

Liliana is the one coming in with giggles as Erune entered first. "Oh! Come on now, dear. There's no need to be nervous." She brought in someone to the dining room as she entered through the doorway. It's Hoshimi coming in surprisingly in her new outfit.

King Pheobus, Queen Raina, and Sheik stared. So did Shining Link. They didn't expect her to come in unexpectedly in one of the prince's outfits.

"Well now. . ." The King began. "This is new. I mean, she is lovely, my son. What lovely hair and splendid eyes she has."

"Yes, dear. She is a real gem." Said the Queen also.

Shining Link stared at her from head to toe. He's still somewhat surprised to see in her in a tunic and leggings instead of a traditional gown. Then he turned to Liliana. "So. . ."

"Oh, I'll explain." She began to speak. "I couldn't find any girl's clothing to fit her size around the castle and Erune's dresses will be a little too small for her. So, I decided to borrow one of your tunics if you don't mind."

"No trouble at all. I'm sure we'll find her something nice for her to wear, first thing tomorrow morning." He answered. He's assuring her that this outfit on Hoshimi is okay with him. Then he turned his attention back to her. He even smiled while saying. "You know? If your hair were shorter, we'll be like siblings or perhaps, twins." He even chuckled a bit.

Hoshimi's smile broadened as she shrugged her shoulders in a happy way. _"He's quite right on that. We might look like siblings because we're slightly wearing the same things."_

After that, bringing out of her thoughts is Sheik as he appeared to her. He took her hand and escorted her to the table. "Come along, milady. You look a bit famished." He brought her to her chair and seated her there as the prince walked over to his seat which is next to hers.

Once she's seated, Hoshimi looked over that she's really sitting next to her love. She even blushed.

"Are you all right?" He asked her as soon as he turned to her.

She blinked when she heard him saying that and it made her blush deepen. She even tried to hide it too! It's as almost she felt embarrassed about something.

Shining Link chuckled again. "It seems like every time you face me, you started blushing. Are you shy, Hoshimi?"

Now, it seems that he really knows how she's feeling. She turned her eyes back to his and slowly nodded her head. Then, she took out a pack of scrolled papers with a pen from her pocket and wrote down what she has to say on the first page. She had these things with her since after Liliana helped her change. The nurse maid gave her these things so that she'll let everyone in the castle know what she's saying. After she finished writing, she gave it to him.

As he took the piece of paper, he read her answer. She said from it, _"Yes. I do believe you're right. I am feeling a little shy. It's just that now that we're sitting together, I'm feeling a little bit awkward."_ After reading her answer on the little note, he turned to her and smiled. "You know, I do have the same feeling too. Although we may not be knowing each other, I am feeling a strange feeling since we're sitting together."

Hoshimi smiled warmly at him. She's now feeling more comfortable when he said his answer. She felt welcomed since she's with him too.

King Pheobus and Queen Raina looked at each other and smiled too. He whispered to his wife. "It almost reminds me of when we first met."

"Yes, dear." She whispered back.

But then, the Prince wasn't too aware of the whispers. "Mother. . ." He said with a worried smile. "It's not what you and father think. I mean, we're not like. . ."

"I know, I know, dear." She said chuckling. "It's only that it's been quite a long, long time since we had a lovely dinner guest."

Now, the Shining Link didn't know what else to say besides sighing at what his mother just said.

Hoshimi shrugged again. Then, she noticed the King and the Queen and gave the prince a curious look.

"Oh. I almost forgot." He said to her while gesturing to his parents. "This is my mother and father who ruled this land. King Pheobus and Queen Raina."

Although she is wearing a tunic and not a dress, Hoshimi got up from her seat and curtsied anyway. All she wanted to do is to show her respect to his family.

"We're delighted to have you here in Hyrule Castle, dear Hoshimi. And you have such a lovely name." Said the king.

She began to nod while smiling.

"She's said her thanks to you and she's also telling you that she always enjoyed her name, herself, father." Shining Link translated for him.

"Hmm, how nice of her to say that without words." His father said.

Next, Shining Link gestured to his sheikah confidante. "And this is Sheik of the Sheikah tribe."

When Hoshimi turned to Sheik, she can tell that he looks a lot like Shrakah from back at her home. But only different. Then, she nodded her head to show that she's delighted to know him.

Sheik did the same and replied. "Pleasure to meet you too, Lady Hoshimi."

She blinked at first for he does address her the same way as Shrakah have. To her it's almost like she met another mer-sheikah. But what's different is that there's no Keir around.

"Hello again!" Snow came down around Hoshimi's head, then flew down to meet her face to face.

Hoshimi blinked again and then, Shining Link said. "Oh yes. This is Snow, our family's fairy."

The princess wrote a note to him, saying _"She looks lovely." _to him.

"Yes, she is a pretty one." He responded.

Snow giggled as she flew around the two for she loved the compliment Hoshimi made for her.

Right now, dinner is about to start and Shining Link is now talking with his confidante and his parents about Hoshimi. It seemed that the King and Queen of Hyrule are beginning to admire her because of her physical appearance. She really appreciated it. She even loved the way she looks too. Even though she's changed into something else instead of a Mer-Hylian for only three days. But, more importantly, she wanted the admiration and love from her prince, once he gets his chance of recognizing who she is. Even without her voice. She's quite sure that with her ocarina, her music will surely bring back something about her.

Just then, one of the maids is serving the family their glasses of water, Hoshimi is the first one to be served. Then, all of a sudden, when the maid is about to place the glass on the table, it slipped out of her fingers and is about to land on the floor!

But, just in time, Hoshimi prepared her hands and formed a bit of Naryu's Love to catch the falling glass. Once she caught it in the blue crystal, she sat it on the table, herself. After her magic was done, the glass is safe and sound with the water rightfully placed inside.

Everyone around the table stared at what she had done. Including the maid.

Then, the maid slowly said to Hoshimi. "Oh. . . . Thank. . . you."

The princess smiled at her.

"Oh. . . ." King Pheobus is amazed as he applaud with the Queen. "That was wonderful technique you created there, Hoshimi. It's quite beautiful too. It's awfully splendid of you to perform a small portion of Naryu's Love."

Hoshimi wrote down another answer on her note paper, then she showed it to Shining Link for him to give his father her answer.

"She's saying that she enjoys your compliment, father. And she's also saying that she only wanted to help although it was nothing." He said, smiling.

Then, the King chuckled. "Oh. . . ha ha. So modest. . ."

"That is a nice performance." Said Sheik. "But, it's highly unlikely for someone outside of the Royal Family of Hyrule to perform magic."

While most of the conversation is going on as dinner is being served, Navi has been watching everything the whole time. Then she said to herself. "Well, seems that things are going well for her. She is very welcomed by the Royal Family and that Sheikah. I guess I should. . ." Then, she thought of something before she can fly off. "Wait! Maybe the business of getting noticed by the Prince might be too big of a job for Hoshimi. I should be at her side to help her out by any means as possible! I better get inside the castle!"

So, with no time to waste, Navi took off, finding a certain place she can go to in order to sneak inside the castle to meet Hoshimi. The first likely place is through one of the castle ducts and in she went. Inside, it's pretty dark but with her bright blue light, she's able to see where she's going. She is flying smoothly until she suddenly ran into a sewer rat who was busy sniffling around. They tumbled along the surface of the duct and they stopped in the middle of it.

The rat began to hiss at the little fairy, who just said to it. "Oops, didn't realize that you were obstructing traffic. Well, got to go!" Then, she took off. She even realized that it's chasing after her, all because she ran into it!

With the little rodent hot on her trail, Navi continued to fly as fast as her wings would let her!

Without a warning, the rat almost pounced up to bite her! But, luckily, she's unharmed.

Just when it seemed that the dark tunnel is endless, Navi then saw a speck of light! An opening with some barbed wire! It may look small, but she had nothing to worry about because, with her small body, she'll be able to get out of the tunnel without a struggle.

Navi turned to meet the rat while flying backwards. "Now, you behave!" She yelled at it.

But, it made another hiss at her as it continued to run, trying to catch her in the process.

"I'm asking you politely once. . ." She told it and the rat made another jump in order to try and catch her with its teeth. After evading it, she repeated. "I'm asking you politely twice. . ." Then, another jump was made. Now, Navi had just reached the end of her rope! "All right! That's it! I had it with you!"

The end of the tunnel is getting near and when the moment was just right, Navi quickly flew through one of the openings of the barbed wire. The rat, however ran into it, with his head sticking out of the hole! His body is too big to go through it like the little fairy. He tried struggling out but it's useless.

"Time out for you!" Navi declared proudly, before flying off, leaving the little rodent confused and defeated. "Heh, that rodent must be suffering from attention deficit disorder, probably." She laughed. She looked around in the room she's in and she's in the royal library of the castle. Then, she flew under the main door of the room and quickly took off down the hallway to find the dining room.

The last corridor she's flying towards to is assumingly the door to the dining room. So, Navi slowly flew down to the floor and began crawling underneath. Once she got in, she _is_ in the dining room.

Everyone at the table is enjoying the meal luxuriously right now.

Well, this is the first time when Hoshimi is dining differently than back in Hylia. When it comes to meal times there, she and her family often have their shellfish or fish meat raw, like sashimi. But, here in Hyrule, it's all new to her. The seafood is all cooked. Broiled, roasted, or stewed. She is currently enjoying her plate of clams.

Then, Queen Raina asked the princess one more question. "So, Hoshimi? Where do you live?"

She paused her eating when she heard her question. Hoshimi made a silent sigh. How can she tell everyone where she's from. She isn't born anywhere in Hyrule and she isn't from the Zora Domain, either. She wasn't sure of how everyone will react if she reveals to them that she's a Mer-Hylian princess from the sea. Plus, with her voice gone, she won't be able to tell it out anyhow.

Shining Link noticed her expression and responded. "It looks like you don't remember." His answer even took her by surprise.

Then, Hoshimi slowly nodded. Perhaps for her it would be best to hide the truth until the right time she's able to.

"You have no memory of where you're from besides your name and age?" Asked the King.

Hoshimi shook her head for her answer.

"Oh dear. . . You appearance is so wonderful, we thought you might be a princess from somewhere in Hyrule. But it seems that happened and resulted to you being lost at sea until now." Said the Queen. "Well, then maybe we won't mind if you stay with us in our royal home. If it's not too much trouble for you."

Hoshimi's face began to brighten for that she'll gratefully accept that offer.

Then, King Pheobus, understanding her emotion very well, replied with a smile. "Well, that settles it. We'll be having a guest room prepared for you so that you'll feel comfortable. Also, by our family's spirit with the blessings of the Three Golden Goddesses, you, Hoshimi are welcomed to stay for as long as you wish."

She nodded in thanks. Next, she noticed Shining Link smiling at her and she smiled back at him.

"Speaking of that. . ." Said Sheik, pausing at his meal. "I believe that in case if this young lady isn't from around here, we can at least give her a chance to see the sights around the Kingdom of Hyrule. By all means, a tour."

"Oh! That will be an excellent idea, Sheik. Thank you." Agreed the King. Then he turned to his son. "What do you think, Shining Link?"

Well, the Prince is somewhat, staring longingly at Hoshimi. Then he returned to his father and the Sheikah. "Oh, my apologies, father. Sheik. What is it just now?"

Now, Sheik wasn't too enlightened about his question. It's not like he would repeat himself. "Look, Ryuusei. You can't spend all of your time moaning about and staring at something or someone for over more than a minute or two. What I was suggesting is a simple tour throughout the kingdom with this girl. Obviously, you need to get out of the clouds and do something. . ."

"Come now, Sheik. You got to remain calm with him." The King said to him.

While the small conversation was going onwards, Hoshimi then took notice of Navi, sitting at a corner. The fairy waved at her and the princess made a notion to stay quiet as she placed her finger in front of her lips. Then she made a gesture for her to hide in the pocket of her tunic.

The fairy understood her gesture and she hastily flew safely into the pocket!

Once the fairy is hidden, Hoshimi returned to the Prince, who is about to ask her something.

"Hoshimi? Do you think you'll join me with the tour around Hyrule, tomorrow?" He asked her.

Hoshimi nodded eagerly for she is waiting for such an opportunity to visit around the kingdom that's hardly unlike her homeland.

Now, the King is satisfied with her answer. "Wonderful, then! It's been decided. We'll have you two get going by noon tomorrow!" Then, the rest of dinner resumes.

After dinner was done, Hoshimi is in her guest room, all dressed in the night clothes which were provided by Liliana and Erune. From the window of her room, she watched Shining Link and Snow chasing each other around the courtyard, below. She even smiled for that situation reminded her of Red, a bit. Back home, she would often watch him playing tag with the little fishes around Hylia's reefs.

As she continued to stare at him with loving eyes, she pulled out her ocarina, put its mouthpiece up to her lips and began to play another soothing tune on it. She thought of doing a little serenade for him.

While the soft music is playing in the air from her instrument, Shining Link and Snow paused their tagging and looked up. They saw the princess playing the little song for them. Especially for the Prince.

Shining Link smiled and waved at her.

After finishing her new song, Hoshimi waved back at him before she head back inside her room.

_"She plays the ocarina beautifully, too. Yet I can't help but thinking I've seen her somewhere. But, where and when?" _He thought.

In her bedroom, Hoshimi began unbraiding her side plaits before combing the rest of her hair.

While she's doing so, Navi was watching. "I really think he's beginning to be fond of you, princess. No doubt about it. I really think he'll fall for you in no time with these three days before the potion wears off." The princess nodded at her in agreement with what she stated. But, she said to her. "But still, his welcoming to this royal household isn't the only thing you'll be expecting, you know. We still need to make up a plan to get him into kissing you."

Hoshimi is about to listen to the fairy as she climbed into her bed. However, she doesn't feel like listening to her because this bed is actually more comfortable and soft than her own back in Hylia! She is slowly drifting off to her sleep under her covers.

Navi, however isn't noticing what the princess is doing as she continued talking. "So! In the afternoon of tomorrow, when he's taking you out on that ride, you must look your very best! Of course, I know just the thing to make him take interest in you for love! You got to flutter your eyelashes, give him a loving gaze and pucker up those. . ." Now, she is seeing Hoshimi in her deep sleep. She thought for sure she won't be able to sleep because of the excitement of the tour around Hyrule but, it didn't seem to happen anyway.

Maybe it would be best to let Hoshimi do things her way and not follow a fairy's example. Of course, it's been a long day for the princess for she has been lectured by her father, swimming to the deep abyss of the Great Sea, transformed into a Hylian by Ganondorf, and trying her best to get used on to walking on her new legs. Then, she began to yawn and stretch for she's getting sleepy, herself.

Without ado, Navi pulled out a muffler, and snuffled the candle's light to put it out for the night. Then, she hopped off from the night stand and on to one of the pillows. After giving Hoshimi a small kiss on her cheek, she spoke softly. "Well, good luck, princess. You're going to need. . . a lot of it. . ." With that said, she drifted off to sleep too.

Back in the sea, Link, Blue, Red, Vio, and Zelda are getting ready for bed too, in their small cave. Link took one more look up to the water's surface and made a small sigh. "Hah. . . I'm sure hoping that Navi will help Hoshimi out with her mission to stay in the upper world with her prince." Then he swam back inside. "You know, everyone? If she succeeds, I going to miss her."

"But at least, she'll be pretty happy." Said Red, snuggling under his kelp woven blanket.

"However. . ." Blue began, folding up his hat along with his tunic. "I don't know what will happen with her if she doesn't win his heart. I have a sinking feeling that Ganondorf is still up to something."

Vio also wondered about the same thing too as readied himself for sleeping. "True. He might be after something else besides her. But I highly doubt the fact that prince would reject her."

Now, what his brothers said made Link think too. "Now that you guys mention it, I can't help but wonder what that wizard will be planning. It might be something that all of Hylia will be valuing and not just our sister."

Zelda then said. "Everyone, it's getting late. So, it's time to shut down our thinking and get some sleep. We'll keep our eyes on our sister tomorrow."

Everyone agreed. They all should be sleeping. So, Link closed up the cave's entrance with a big sliding rock, tucked himself under his woven kelp blanket and slowly shut his eyes.

In the mean time, back at Hylia, things were stirred up. The kingdom's lights are still being lit in the middle of the light and everyone is still active at each corner of the kingdom. They were all swimming around, searching for King Thor's children. Especially, the youngest princess. They were also calling out their names. "Lady Hoshimi! Lady Hoshimi!"

"Prince Link! Prince Red! Prince Blue! Prince Vio! Princess Zelda! Where are you?"

There's even a small group of mer-hylian girls who are searching around for Vio than just the other three prices. Their leader cried out. "How about it, Vio fans! Shall we ever lose the smartest and cutest prince of our kingdom?"

"No!" They all cried out.

"Then let's keep searching for Prince Vio!" She called out again and her supporters cheered! They are not going to stop until they find Vio.

The entire search party looked and looked and searched and searched, but there's no sign of the Royal Children anywhere. Not on their part of the sea to be exact.

This search party is also aided by the Six Maidens, Shrakah, and Keir.

Back inside the palace, King Thor paced around his throne room, still feeling guilty about what he had done and said to his daughter. Right now, he's feeling more worried about her, now that she's not inside the palace for a long time. He even wonders if she had ran away because of his temper. Then, he's greeted by the Maidens, and the two Mer-Sheikah, who all curtsied and bowed before him. He asked. "Any sign of them from anywhere?"

They all shook their heads for their answers.

"None at all?" He asked again.

"No, your majesty." Said Shrakah, lowering his head solemnly. "We looked everywhere around the kingdom. But we found no trace of Lady Hoshimi, Lady Zelda, or the Four Princes."

The King sighed at this. Then, he gave out his last order. "Well, listen carefully to this. You all must keep searching. Make sure to leave no shell unturned, no coral reef unexplored, and please! Let no Mer-Hylian folk in this kingdom sleep until all of my children were home, safe and sound."

"Yes, your majesty. . . ." They all replied slowly before swimming off to continue their search.

As soon as they left, King Thor sat on his throne, then let out another sigh. He shook his head and sorrowfully said to himself. "Oh. . . . Great Goddesses of Hyrule and Hylia. . . . What is it that I have done?" He is definitely feeling very sorry of himself, this time. Then he thought. _"Oh, Hoshimi. If you come back home, I'll surely change my ways with you."_

* * *

Zelda: Oh my. Now, the King of the Great Sea is really sorry for himself.

M.S.K: He sure is. Now, I hope you like this so far. I may be a busy girl, but I would always find time for writing. So, there's no need to worry. In the mean time, stay tuned for what will happen in the next chapter. Jya na!

Link: So, let me get this straight. Another Zelda story is yet to appear in the game world?

M.S.K: (Nods) I heard it's going to be pretty exciting.

Navi: Hey! Hey!

M.S.K: Yes? Yes?

Navi: What is this little event your preparing for?

M.S.K: Well, it's not one. But two, actually. One is a musical I'm going to go and see and another is a convention where people get to dress up, have fun, and celebrate their favorite shows and games.

Red: Like Legend of Zelda?

M.S.K: Exactly!

Red: Oh! What fun!


	12. Hoshimi and Shining Link

M.S.K: Konnichiwa minna! I hope you're doing fine! Another chapter is updated! If I were keeping you all waiting then, my humble apologies. While I was writing this, I was watching Gundam Wing and listening to some Disney World music from the park. Plus, I've been wondering what to do next, after I finish this story. Well, enough said. So, Vio? Honey?

Vio: (Blushes and raises his eyebrow) Okay. . . Ahem. Kaoru doesn't own anything about Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. She only owns the characters and animals she has for this story. Legend of Zelda rightfully belongs to the creators of Nintendo.

M.S.K: Thank you! Now, on with the story!

Vio: May I ask, why did you mention 'honey'?

M.S.K: Is there something wrong about it?

* * *

Chapter 11: Hoshimi and Shining Link

The first day has already passed on and now is the second day. During this morning, after Hoshimi woke up, she walked over to her bedroom window and looked out to see the warm sun as it rose over the horizon between the sky and the sea. She never seen the sun rising up on land before. The only time of when she knows it's morning is by looking up to the light shining on the surface or the color of the sea to know if it's night or day. If it's daytime, it's bright blue. But, at night, it's deep indigo. Hoshimi had never seen anything so beautiful, here in Hyrule before.

Next, she looked down and she saw Shining Link riding on a brown horse. It looks so cute too. A horse with a brown color and a mane of white.

After a moment, Navi flew up to her after she woke up too. "You really like him. Don't you?"

Hoshimi blinked while blushing a bit at the fairy. Then she nodded for her answer of 'yes'. Indeed, she is growing more fond of the prince each and every moment she's near him. But, she is even wondering if he's feeling the same too.

Without further ado, she began to slip her shoes on, picked up her ocarina, and head out the door, though she's still in her night gown.

She went down the stairs and into the lobby first. After walking down the hallway after the lobby, she found the door that leads to the courtyard. As she stepped foot outside, she saw Shining Link, brushing the horse's back

The Prince turned to her and greeted. "Oh, good morning, Hoshimi. It's nice to see you up in this fine morning."

Hoshimi made a nod with her head to show that she's saying the same thing.

"Yes. Good morning, dear Hoshimi." Said Snow as well.

The ivory haired girl smiled at her. Then she turned her eyes towards the horse.

"I see you're now meeting my horse, Epona." Shining Link said to her. "I always ride on her every early morning. She's been with me for a long time, ever since I was small. She's still a foal when I first met her. As you can see, she's a really gentle horse." He even stroked the mane of this fine horse.

Then, Epona nickered.

Shining Link took notice of her doing and chuckled. "Oh, I guess you want to meet up close with Hoshimi, don't you? Okay, go ahead."

So, the horse walked over to Hoshimi and lowered her head for her to stroke it gently. Epona, herself felt loved by the princess.

"She's quite happy that we're having you as a visitor." The Prince said. "Ah! I almost forgot." He pulled out a carrot and handed it to Hoshimi. "Here, you can feed her."

She looked at the vegetable first. Then, she took it and gave it to Epona, who gratefully ate it for her. When that's done, Hoshimi smiled again as she began to stroke the horse's head once more. She is feeling loved by this wonderful horse. After she's finished stroking her head, she took out her ocarina and began playing three notes, repeated them in the second time, and finally blend them together with two more notes, playing a delightful tune.

Once that's done, the horse made a delighted 'neigh' for her as it picked itself up on its back legs before landing back on all fours again.

Shining Link chuckled. "It's a horse's way of saying, she loves your music, Hoshimi."

Hoshimi smiled warmly for that reaction too.

"Well, I believe it's time that we should eat first before going out into our tour around the kingdom." He said to her. "I'll go put Epona away first. You can head on back inside to change." Then, he took his horse back into the stables.

While walking up the stairs to her bedroom, Navi then flew besides Hoshimi. "His horse is pretty too. I admire her." She said to her and the princess nodded. The fairy even giggled for that she can see that she's blushing again. "You really, really are in love with him! You really are, Hoshimi!"

This made the princess give the little fairy an embarrassed look with the blush still painting over her cheeks.

"I'm serious!" She squealed again.

Hoshimi then held up a finger in front of her lips, giving her a message that the truth about her feelings for the prince should remain as a silent secret and it's supposed to be a surprise! She can't let him find out about it just yet!

"Ever since the night you saved his life," The fairy started again. "You are already head over heels for him, you know! I always knew it! So today, we should stick to the plan to get him to totally kiss you in order to make the spell stay. . ."

Before she can say another word or two, Hoshimi quickly cupped the little fairy with her hands, carefully without crushing her in them. Then she quickly carried her all the way upstairs to her room to get ready. Along the way, as the fairy continued talking, it can only be heard as muffling in her hands.

When she finally reached the room, she unfolded her hands and the fairy is still talking.

"And if you were to keep me quiet any longer, I. . ."

Before anything else can be said, Hoshimi placed her finger upon Navi's lips and she placed the finger on her second hand over her lips while giving her a look in the eyes that said, _"That would be quite enough of that, for now. So, whatever you do or say, don't give out the secret. Thank you."_

Navi understood her expression and nodded before lowering herself on to the nightstand. With that shown, she lets the princess get ready for the day.

After breakfast, Sheik had already hitched Epona on to a horse drawn carriage and it's ready for touring around Hyrule.

Once Shining Link, Snow, and Hoshimi settled themselves into the carriage, they both waved back at Erune, Sheik, and Liliana who are waving at them to wish them a happy day. Then, the prince tugged on Epona's rein to signal her to start pulling the carriage and they're off as soon as the castle gates were opened by the guards.

During this joyful ride, Hoshimi is delightfully dazzled by all of the wondrous sights around Hyrule. A kingdom that's practically similar to her home from below the sea! She has seen many beautiful buildings as she and the prince entered Castle Town. Many people were bustling around, doing whatever they like to do to spend the day away. Everything here in Hyrule is all new to Hoshimi.

As the carriage crosses the Eldin Bridge over the river that's flowing down to the ocean, Red, Blue, and Zelda were swimming along as they watched the carriage riding by with their sister and her prince. They swam all the way here below Castle Town's river in order to keep a good watch on the two.

Then, Navi came by. She just came out from hiding in Hoshimi's pocket of her new sandy white dress that Liliana bought for her. The dress also comes with a gray cloth belt that's tied around her waist.

"So. . ." Red began when they meet the fairy. "Did they kiss yet?"

"Not yet." She whispered back to them.

"Oh. . ." He and Zelda moaned sternly while Blue crossed his arms in an dissatisfied fashion.

Today is the second day and there is little time left before the final day on Hoshimi's trial of the potion that Ganondorf gave her. So, Hoshimi should waste no time to get the prince to love her.

Then, Navi happens to notice Snow, the white fairy who's with the Prince. _"Hmm. Something tells me that I've seen that fairy before. But I don't think I remember."_ She thought.

Once they reached the Castle Town Market, Hoshimi was even more amazed by the life style the people were living in. All of the villagers around her were wearing unique clothing and were doing an amount of things like shopping or selling goods. Food, tools, antiques, rare items, and crops from farms. Plus, there is also children around the village, running about, playing with their outdoor toys and games like tag, wooden sword fights, or hide and seek, enjoying their care-free paradise. Most of this is slightly similar to the life the people of her kingdom were living in.

The excited princess noticed a pen filled with lots of white cuckoos hopping around the mound of hay on the ground. Plus, there's a man who's calling out to the villagers. He's probably selling those little birds.

"You want to go over there for a look?" Asked Shining Link to her.

Hoshimi nodded eagerly for she has never seen cuckoos before.

"All right, let's go."

So, the two walked over to the seller's cuckoo pen. Plus, Snow went along with them.

The man noticed them and called out. "Ah! Welcome! Welcome! Come over and take a look! This here is the best flock of cuckoos I raised in me farm this year! Only five rupees per bird! If you wish to buy one, then I'll be a happy hoppin' rooster! Ha ha! Cock-a-doodle-doo! Heh, heh! I always want to do that. Do come and have a look!" Then he realizes that his customer is the Prince. "Hmm? Ah! Bless my weather vane! If it isn't Hyrule's Prince! Say, what brings you here outside of the palace? Did you sneak out again, laddie?"

Shining Link smiled. "Oh no, good sir Julius, Famed Cuckoo Farmer of Hyrule, I'm here because I'm showing this girl what's around Castle Town. She's from another land so, she's new among my family."

Julius, the cuckoo seller looked over and saw Hoshimi. "Well now! Howdy, young lady! Sure is a pleasure to meet you, though I don't think I see anyone like you before! It sure is a blessin' from them, Goddesses to have a newcomer here! Aye!"

Hoshimi waved at the happy man.

Then, Julius turned back to the prince. "Say, laddie, what's her name?"

"She's called Hoshimi." He answered.

"Ah! Hoshimi, is it? Well, bless my soul! It's a lovely one!" He responded with glee.

Hoshimi turned over to the prince with a look in her eyes, telling him, _"He's a very friendly man."_

"He sure is." The Prince whispered to her. Next he said to the seller. "If you forgive me for saying this, Julius. But, I have to tell you that she has a problem with speaking so, she's mute."

"Aww, that's darn fine with me. I won't mind." He replied. "Well, you two can go ahead and see them cuckoos. They're the healthiest ones I'm raised this year! You'll never seen any other cuckoos like 'em!" Then, he allows them to do so.

Hoshimi looked on to the pen where the birds are happily clucking, pecking, and hopping.

"They're really cute birds, you know." Snow said to her.

She nodded at the fairy before turning back to the birds. She really enjoyed seeing these little birds.

While watching the two examining the busy birds, Julius asked Shining Link. "So your highness, are you and the lovely lady out together?"

That question made the two turn around to meet him with light blushes over their cheeks and wide eyes.

However, this made Snow giggle.

"Oh? Does it sound suspicious to you two?" The man asked them again.

The Prince and the Princess hastily shook their heads.

"Oh! No, no! Actually sir, I was giving her a tour around the kingdom, since she's new here." He answered him as Hoshimi nodded her head in agreement.

"Ah, I see. . ."

Then the two and the fairy continued their moment on viewing the birds.

After a short moment, Julius then asked. "Say, how about you like to play a little game?"

The two turn around and Shining Link asked back. "A game?"

"Aye." Said the seller. "I was wondering if this lady will try her luck on it."

The Prince turned to Hoshimi. "You want to try?"

She gave him an _"I won't mind"_ expression.

So, the prince answered for her. "She says that she'll like to give it a try."

"Okay!" Then, Julius instructed Hoshimi. "Now, the way how this works is that one of them, cuckoos is different from the rest. One of them doesn't cluck like the others. If you find the one that clucks differently, you and the Prince will deserve something special! You got about ten minutes to find the right cuckoo."

So, Hoshimi looked up and down the pen with not only her eyes, but also with her ears. She looked around and about while keeping her ears open to see if she can find the cuckoo he's talking about. After three minutes, she heard a high pitched crow. Then she reached down and pulled out a cuckoo that made another crow in the same high pitch.

Once she has done that, Julius cheerfully announced. "Yee-haw! You found the cuckoo I'm talking about! That one is different from the others because it doesn't cluck or crow at the same pitch as the rest! I'm impressed to see you've found it within five minutes!"

Shining Link and Snow clapped for Hoshimi's success and she smiled with joy.

Then, the little bird began to wriggle and squawk suspiciously before flying out of Hoshimi's hands. As it landed back into the pen, it began to scramble around and about, making even more stressful sounding squawks.

_"Okay, what did I do?"_ She thought as she watched the little bird squawking and running around the pen amongst the other cuckoos. Then, she turned to Julius with an expression with a raised eyebrow, asking him, _"That little bird seems awfully upset. Why?"_

Julius chuckled and answered. "Ah, you know cuckoos. Sometimes they will often get upset or angry over something, if there is. They're temperamental birds. So, holding them will be one of the things they're not quite comfortable with."

Hoshimi blinked. She is often fond of seabirds, but she didn't expect that cuckoos will have the tendency to overreact.

Julius hopped off from the wooden crate he's sitting upon and took Hoshimi, Snow, and the Prince over to another wooden crate. "Now, I'll reward you with something special for you and Shining Link to see."

He showed them a little wooden box filled with hay. Sitting in the hay are ten cuckoo eggs.

"Eggs?" Asked Shining Link. "What's so special about them?"

"Oh, watch. You'll see." Said the seller.

Then, the two heard some soft clicking noises. Then those noises were turned into cracking noises. At that moment, the prince and princess looked closely at the little eggs. They can see that they're twitching a bit and their shells were cracking up! Then, they're now witnessing the exciting moment! All of the eggs hatched into ten squeaking, soft, healthy cuckoo chicks!

"Oh, wow! All the eggs hatched! Congratulations to your cuckoos, Julius!" The Prince exclaimed.

"Aww! Aren't they simply adorable!" Squealed Snow.

Hoshimi stared at the newborn birds! Never before she had witnessed something so precious as this! She smiled lovingly at the adorable little chicks!

After waving good-bye to Julius, the two walked off as the white fairy flew from behind them. As they were walking, Hoshimi gave Shining Link a look in her eyes, telling him that she wishes she could stay with the cuckoo chicks for a little while longer.

"Yeah." He answered, smiling. "Me too. Cuckoos are actually one of my favorite things about living here, in Hyrule."

Then, Hoshimi gave him another expression on her face with a small smirk while having her hands on her hips. She's doing this in a way of complementing him on how lucky he is to be in a place where you'll be able to see livestock everyday.

After understanding her body language, Shining Link chuckled. "Well, it's not just cuckoos. It's also the seabirds, and of course some horses, sheep, goats, and cows who are often brought here from farmlands around Hyrule Fields and Kakariko Village where Sheik is from."

Hoshimi shrugged her shoulders while grinning. She's doing this because, without her voice, she couldn't laugh. Not even a chuckle.

Then, Snow asked her. "Say, do you have any animals living around your homeland, Hoshimi?"

When he asked her that, her grin then turned into a worried frown. _"Well, how am I going to answer that?"_ Her mind thought. _"I really don't want them to find out that I'm actually from the sea and at that, I'm usually surrounded by sea animals. But, the thing I really think he should know is that I am the one who saved him."_

Suddenly, Shining Link said. "It looks like you don't remember. But, I'm sure you often see birds from where you're from. Right?"

Hoshimi nodded her head slowly for her answer.

"I thought so." He said, smiling to her.

Before anything else happens, Hoshimi looked over and saw a colorful looking building. It looked really interested her, so that's why she made a big, open smile with wide eyes. She gently grabbed the Prince's arm and pointed over towards the little building.

"What's that? You want to go over there?" He asked her.

Well, that's what her expression is telling him as she eagerly nodded her head.

"Well, I think we can. . ." Before he can say anything else, Hoshimi hastily pulled him over to the colorful building, with Snow trying to catch up.

Once they got inside, Vio and Link were also watching them from hiding in the river of the village. They are doing the exact same deed like Zelda, Red, and Blue. In order to this, they decided to split up and meet up soon enough to report each other if there are any results about their sister's love with the Prince. The two princes lowered themselves into water and looked at each other.

"Well, I think they're doing well, so far." Said Link. "I mean, lucky for us that this Prince is really understanding. He really does know exactly what she's saying for that she's now voiceless."

"But, her main goal is to get him to kiss her. That way she'll remain as a Hylian forever." Vio told him. "Hoshimi shouldn't be having too many distractions. We all know that Hyrule is a new world for her. But, so far, it looks like he's hardly into her. She should really reel him in."

Then, Link began to say. "I'm having faith in Hoshimi, Vio. Our sister is known to be the most beautiful mer-hylian child among us besides Zelda. She does have a strong heart, mind, and spirit too. So, there's no way that she can possibly swim all the way up here, just to return to the sea and then go to Ganondorf."

"Yes. I do too, Link. But, I can't help but feeling that Ganondorf might be planning to do the same thing with her again, like the time of trying to take father's throne. He might have something else in mind. He may not want her to win the Prince's heart at all. On top of that, he'll be finding Hoshimi too good for whatever he'll be scheming. He'll be involving not only her, but also something else that's precious among us." His brother said again.

"Um, Vio?" Link began to ask. "Just, how do you suppose that. . ."

"I don't suppose, Link. I know. I've seen that trick plenty of times and I'm not too inexperienced about it. It could be something that Hoshimi is currently having, in which Ganondorf hasn't."

Now, this is a pickle for Link's mind. If what Vio said is likely to be true, then that leaves him to wonder. What is it that Hoshimi is possessing in which Ganondorf is after. Another thing would be this. Is granting her wish to become a Hylian girl a good deed, being done for real? Or is it another trick?

Later on, inside the little colored building, Hoshimi is trying out a little bowling game that's played by people of the Hylian culture with Shining Link. The prize for this game is a red rupee as offered by the lady who owns the establishment.

If Hoshimi scores three perfect wins out of ten tries, then she'll win the rupee. Right now, she messed up on seven tries and she's becoming a little flustered.

The lady, who owned the game building giggled. "Ha ha! Come on, you almost had it!" She can see that the princess is good at throwing the little bowling gadget.

So far, Hoshimi scored the first three, and now, getting the last one is going to be hard. The rest of the tries barely made it to the target.

As she picked up the gadget, Shining Link rooted. "Come on, Hoshimi! I know you can do this." He is watching her play along-sides with Snow.

While positioning the gadget as she held it tightly in her hand, Hoshimi breathed in gently first. Then, with one powerful thrust with her arm, she launched the gadget and it perfectly hit the target!

The bell rang out and the young lady announced. "Looks like we have a winner! Congratulations!" Then she gave Hoshimi the red rupee. "Here! It's all yours!"

Once she claimed the price, Hoshimi showed the Prince the rupee with a big smile.

"Yeah!" He cheered!

"She did it!" Cheered his fairy as well.

Yes, Hoshimi is really having a wonderful time with the Prince of Hyrule. In addition to that, it seemed that life in Hyrule is not as bad as what her father usually told her. She always knew that he, Shrakah, and Keir have mistaken for very long time.

After that, it's now the Prince's turn. He took over to a small place in the middle of the village, where there's an acoustic orchestra playing and people were dancing together. He and Hoshimi began dancing together among the other villagers who are enjoying their time as much as they are.

All the while, Snow is watching the two. She even smiled for to her opinion, the two look fit together.

For Hoshimi, even though her feet are aching a little, unlike the first day, she danced gracefully. From the way she looked at his eyes, it seems that Shining Link is starting to like her more, each and every moment.

Later on, after the two bought themselves a small lump of Hylian sweet bread from the market, they are having another ride in the carriage. Shining Link's sweet bread has pumpkin filling while Hoshimi's had vanilla cream filling. They are both enjoying their snack while enjoying their little ride.

In the river, Vio and Link are meeting up together with Blue, Zelda, and Red.

When they meet, Link asked the three. "Any luck from what you saw on your side?"

They shook their heads. Then, Blue asked back. "How about you guys? Any smooching?"

"No. Not yet from what we saw." Answered Vio.

All of the remaining Royal Children sighed. Until then, Blue huffed. "Well, we better get serious, then. We need to keep better watch on those two!"

"We should keep following them through this river." Link suggested and that's exactly what they did.

In the meantime, it's now sunset. The sunset of the second day. But at this time, things with Hoshimi are a little too exciting. Right now, after giving Snow the last bit of her sweet bread, she's now holding on to the reins of Epona in the carriage. She just had the horse riding at hasty speed. Faster than what Shining Link had done. During this fast ride, Snow is trying to hold on while sitting inside of the pocket of the Prince's tunic. Also, Shining Link doesn't know if he can hang on during this ride, for he had never seen anyone at Hoshimi's age driving a horse drawn carriage, this fast! He's actually amazed by her control with the reigns while riding at this speed.

Hoshimi, herself had never done horse driving before. But, by the looks of what she's doing, she's doing pretty good. She had done Seahorse Riding at her home.

"Woah!" The Prince exclaimed as they turned around the curve sharply. "Easy, there!"

Just then, they're about to come up to a small gorge! "Gyah! Danger!" Screamed Snow from inside the pocket.

While looking at how wide the gorge is, Shining Link mumbled, a little uneasily. "Ho. . . Hoshimi. I don't think we can get out of this problem if we continued riding down this direction!"

But, she turned to him with a look saying, _"Yes we can! We can definitely make it! There's no need to slow down! Watch this!"_ With that, she signaled Epona to pick up speed. Once the time is right, the horse jumped over the gorge with the carriage behind her! Then they safely landed on the other side.

From there, Hoshimi had Epona pulling the carriage down the road, back to steady speed.

Then, Shining Link lifted his head after covering it with his arms during the take off over the gorge. He looked at what the princess is doing with wide eyes, along sides with Snow. He then looked over at her and saw her winking at him. Yes, they're all safe from danger. Then, he sat up with his arms behind him while enjoying the rest of the carriage ride with the brave girl who's beside him.

Moments later, it is now late afternoon turning into early evening. The second sun has just set and the cool, sweet air of night is slowly flowing in.

The carriage was parked on a patch of grass near a small lagoon that stretches towards the ocean and Epona is already grazing on the grass. She's already tired from pulling it and she is getting a bit hungry. That's why she's taken the luxury of feeding herself with the grass.

In the meantime, Shining Link is now having a tranquil boat ride with Hoshimi on a row boat that's lying at the dock in the lagoon. The two are riding peacefully upon the calm water as they sat across from each other. Snow however, is sitting on the palms of Hoshimi's hands.

While this is going on, Navi, Link, Zelda, Red, Blue, and Vio are watching the two. As usual. They're all hiding between some rocks and a small grove of reeds, while still being in water.

Red is the one who's behind the backs of Blue, Link, and Vio. He's trying to get a better view of the two together. "Guys! Guys! Part up! I can't see!" He whispered.

"Shush, Red!" Blue whispered back to him.

"But, I can't see a thing!" He whined again.

"Blue, give him some room." Said Vio, moving over a bit.

Link observed the atmosphere of the two together. "I find that hard to believe. He's taking interest in her, only bit by bit. But, I don't see why he's not kissing her."

"Yes." Said Navi. "All the while, nothing is happening, yet. Only a day away, two had gone by, and that boy is not giving up to her with a smooch."

"You're right on that, Navi. This silence is really taking out of this. We need to do something to strengthen up this situation. Something that will explain Hoshimi's feelings to him. Something that would _really _bring in the mood for him to give into her affection for him, that way he'll do the same."

Now, this made the little blue fairy smile slightly. "Hmm, maybe you're right, Link dear! I think I do know how to bring in the mood. This is a bit of a romantic emergency!" She flew over to one part of the lake and stopped there, hovering in the air. "I got just the thing." Then she began to sing. _"~I know that I'm not the first one. You had love in your path before me. But when your lips touched my lips, it felt like I was kissing destiny, here. Angel eyes. With your angel eyes, will you always be there to hold me? Oooh . . .~"_

While watching her singing this song, all the Four Princes and Princess can do is stare at her with confused eyes. "Uh. . . ." They don't had any idea what Navi is trying to do, just by singing that song. It didn't seem to bring up much of the romantic atmosphere to shape that well. Plus, they can see that Hoshimi and Shining Link aren't aware of her singing.

The Prince chuckled while rowing. "Heh, well. Someone shall find that little fairy from one of the Fairy Springs, here at least."

Hoshimi made a slightly awkward grin and she saw the fairy singing. She didn't quite agree with her idea also as she slowly shook her head.

Snow looked up from inside the boat and saw Navi. "Huh. Why does that blue fairy seem so familiar?" She asked herself.

Everyone from behind the rocks and reeds sighed as they all shook their heads too. Navi is only getting a little ahead of herself.

"Oh. . . What are we going to do from here? This won't work." Link groaned.

"You're telling me." Blue snorted. "Right now, that fairy isn't helping anything with that song!"

Then, Zelda had an idea of her own. "Well, we can use a better solution. Hoshimi will definitely have her chance once we use it."

"How will we do it, Zelda?" Red asked her.

"Well? Huddle up with me." She said to him and the rest of her brothers.

They all huddled together to listen to her plan. It's all in whispers right now.

From there, Navi stopped her singing and flew over to see what's going on between the First Princess of Hylia and the Four Princes. She even tried to get into the conversation. "Hey! Hey!" She called to them. But, they're too busy to listen.

Then, the huddle was loosened, once the whispering stopped.

Vio, seeing a glimmer into his sister's little plan, spoke in agreement. "You know? We can try it."

Red, Link, and Blue are also agreeing.

"All right. Let's do this." Zelda announced.

So, she and the brothers swam over a few meters away from the reeds and stopped at one part of the lake to keep themselves hidden under the shadow of the tree that's above them.

"Wait! Wait!" Navi said to her. "Zelda! Zelda dear! Just what are you and the brothers are going to be doing?"

She chuckled. "You'll see." Then, she took out a golden harp and positioned it with her arm.

Then, Link took out his green ocarina while the other princes are taking out their own instruments. Red has a lute, Blue has a violin, and Vio has a flute.

The siblings were already for their part of the plan.

Zelda started off by playing the first few notes and her brothers followed on, blending their own sounds together into one colorful melody for a song. Then, she began to sing. _"~While taking steps upon the glittering sea, at a peaceful pace. Then I heard my name called. That is when I saw your face. I find it new when we know each others secret just by seeing through the eyes. I'm sure that if keep our smiles up, our love will surely rise. Moonlight. . . Starlight. . . There is nothing I am grateful for. Right now, I hope you and I will be one, since we're more. All I want the most is your hands entwined with mine. Even a kiss will make our love benign.~"_

While the music is going on in the lake, the moon and the stars had appeared in the sky, making the entire area bright with its light.

As he watched the twinkling and sparkling sky with Hoshimi, Shining Link turned over to her. "You really enjoy the sky like this. Do you, Hoshimi?"

She nodded her head again for her answer. Yes, it's true. She really enjoyed the stars, ever since she was little. Because of her father's band for ever visiting the surface, she never seen them above the water. She could only look at them from below. Well, now that she's in Hyrule, she can see them perfectly. She had never seen anything so beautiful.

Hoshimi is about to lay her hand on the edge of the row boat and she felt Shining Link's hand. She just touched his hand with hers! She blinked and saw it there. A blush painted over her cheeks and she can see that the prince is also blushing the same way.

Snow giggled for a moment when that situation happened.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, the two quickly pulled their hands away and tried to hide their blushes.

Hoshimi began to shake nervously a bit and she can feel her heart pounding faster than normal.

"It's not your fault. There's no need to shake like that. We didn't know that our hands are in one spot. That's all. Heh. . ." He said to her.

It made her stop her shaking and look up to him. She stared at him for a bit before slowly smiling.

Shining Link looked up to the stars and spoke to her. "When Father told me the story of how he first met Mother, when they're about our age, he would often say to me that she really resembled the 'Spirit of the Stars' when they laid eyes on each other. Right now, I'm at the time when I should be looking for a bride too. I've seen a few girls around the Kingdom of Hyrule, but not one of them is close to what I'm looking for."

Hoshimi tilted her head, in a way of asking him if it's hard for him.

He nodded before he continued his story. "Yes, it is hard work. Especially when Sheik has to remind me every time."

"But, it's still important you know." Said Snow. "Your father just wants you to be. . ."

"Yes, Snow. Settled in with the right girl. I know." He mumbled. Irritated a bit, actually. Even his fairy says the same thing.

Hoshimi shrugged her shoulders.

The Prince continued again. "I even visited another princess from a distant kingdom. However, she seems to be focusing on herself than with me. I couldn't bear to endure her. So, she's not my type either. Then I began to sail back here to Hyrule, not too long ago. On that night, the ship I was on ran into a strong storm and I was cast into the sea when it went down after rescuing a sailor's child. When the storm died down, I was washed ashore upon the beach of my homeland and I was unconscious. But, when I woke up, I happen to see a small glimpse of a girl with aquamarine eyes. Then I blinked out for a bit and when I have both of my eyes opened, the girl disappeared."

While listening to his story, Hoshimi can see that Shining Link does have a small clue about the girl who saved him from drowning. But she can also tell that he's still unsure of who she is and he isn't aware that the one who rescued him and have the aquamarine eyes is actually her. She wanted to mouth words to him to tell him that she's his rescuer. But then again, even with that, he may not understand her. If she were to write it down, he may not believe her.

The Royal Children, who are still doing their music, were also aware of what the Prince is saying to their sister.

"I never know her name or how I'll find her, now. I probably will never see her again." He said. "However, if I can't find her, then I'll possibly marry you, Hoshimi."

When she heard those words, she brought her head up to see him and smiled again. She would be grateful to him for saying that, once they're together.

Shining Link turned back to the stars and spoke once more. "You know, I kind of doubt this. But, Father once told me, that if I'm lucky enough, once I find a girl who resembles the 'Spirit of the Stars', she'll probably. . ." He looked back at Hoshimi and began to stare, slowly finishing what he's saying to her. "Have his. . . Blessing. . . ." He then gasped softly. What he's seeing is something new about Hoshimi.

He is now seeing her starlit hair and aquamarine eyes glowing and glittering brightly. Just like the stars in the sky. It's the starlight that made her shimmer brilliantly like this! His mind exclaimed. _"Wow! Her hair. . . Her eyes. . . They're all like the stars now. Just look at the twinkling glitter in that aquamarine color. . . . Wait! Aquamarine? Her eyes are really like the ones that girl had when she rescued me. Does this mean. . . ? What? No. She can't be her. She doesn't have the voice, remember?"_

Snow looked up at Hoshimi and exclaimed too. "Wow! Amazingly shiny! I never knew you look so pretty, right now, Hoshimi!"

The Princess smiled at them. Through that smile, she's telling him that it's a little thing that only happens when the full moon is in the sky.

"I do know what you mean." Shining Link said to her, taking both of her hands.

She blinked a bit but continued smiling.

"It's just like the meaning in your name. Hoshimi. It's starlight beauty, right?"

She nodded.

"Wow. . . That sounds beautiful. I truly adore your name and your appearance. . . Hoshimi . . ."

Once he said that, her eyes glittered with even more sparkles than before. She really enjoyed what he said to her.

Zelda and the Princes were delighted by that moment and she continued her song. _"~Dearest one, I know it's true. Our love is still strong, even in the dark of nights. To bring light to our day, we don't need __just candle light. . . . Just let our love bloom!~"_

"Oh! It's working! It's working!" Navi can see that Hoshimi and Shining Link are holding each others hands and are looking deeply into each others eyes. "Keep it up! I can see that the two are getting closer together!"

Then, they continued, with Zelda singing. _"~Moonlight. . . Starlight. . . There is nothing I am grateful for. Right now, I hope you and I will be one, since we're more.~"_

Now, it looks like Hoshimi and Shining Link are moving in closer and closer to each other!

_"It's going to get close!"_ Link's mind exclaimed while playing his ocarina.

_"~You are always my enriching heaven when you're close to me. So promise me that you'll never leave me alone. . . .~"_

By the end of Zelda's song, the Princess of Hylia and the Prince of Hyrule are about to share a momentous kiss when suddenly, _splash!_ Hoshimi, Shining Link, and Snow are tossed overboard when their rowboat was being turned over!

Navi, Zelda, Link, Blue, Red, and Vio couldn't believe what they saw and groaned disgracefully. Things were going perfectly, according to plan, until this happened! Their sister was so close! A wonderful moment is about to happen along with the music and now, it's ruined!

"No. . . ." Zelda said with a moan.

"We were. . . just there. . !" Navi exclaimed.

Link face-palmed himself while Vio let out a sigh of defeat. Red looked like he is beginning to cry again and Blue groaned again, slapping the water. "Oh. . . . Barnacles!"

Hoshimi and Shining Link quickly got themselves to shore and Snow flew out of the water. Both: the Princess and the Prince are soaked when they set foot on to the marshy grass.

"Gosh! What just happened?" Shining Link asked while squeezing the water out of his hat.

"Heh, some big fish must have stuffed us in a barrel." Snow suspected.

As Hoshimi is squeezing the water out of the skirt of her dress, the Prince said to her. "Well, since we're soaking wet, I think we should be getting home."

She nodded before jumping on to the carriage with him and Snow quickly flew inside his pocket. From her perspective, it is getting late and hopefully, there should still be some time left on the third day to get her first kiss. That way, the potion will remain permanently in her forever.

When carriage drove off, Link Zelda, and the others quickly dive back into the water to head back to their hideout while Navi start to fly off to Hyrule Castle ahead of the carriage.

Meanwhile, after the lake is quiet again, the wind began to blow strongly and in the sky, a few dark blue clouds began to shroud the shimmering sky.

Behind the over turned row boat are two leopard sharks from the Great Ocean. They were at the water's surface for a bit then, they dive back into the water. While swimming to the dark abyss, the home of Ganondorf, they began to grin to each other. They are the ones who pushed the boat over just when Hoshimi and Shining Link are about to share their first kiss! In fact, doing that is promptly their job!

Once they made it back to the domain of the Sea Wizard, they met Shadow Link, who's sitting on a rock, waiting for them and wiggling his fins slowly while he's at it. Both of them made low growling noises for their answers to him.

When they did, Shadow smiled at them. "Ah, so you did do what I told you, eh? You two rascals really pushed them over, didn't you? Good job, boys!" He even pet them. "And now for something in return. So, don't move. . ." He swam back to the dark castle and on his way back, he brought a pail with some fish that have already been caught and cut and he tossed them to the two sharks.

Just as their seafood is served to them, the two sharks are beginning to fight over the best parts of it.

Back in the main room, where Ganondorf is playing another song on his pipe organ, Shadow Link is swimming around and about in one part of the room and he isn't very happy. "Boy! That was a close one. Well, too close, that is!" Right now, it seems that he is running thin on his patience to get Hoshimi for his own desires. "That little runt of a sea bream, Hoshimi! Without a doubt, she _does_ have her eyes on that pretty boy! I can't believe that he's got a head start with her! She probably likes him just because he and she are like two crossing stars!"

"Patience, Shadow." The wizard told him while playing his dark song, still. "You're still going to have Hoshimi. There's only one day left, and the act you performed is just a fine way of keeping that kiss from happening. Soon enough, as long as we keep the princess away from the little prince, we'll be close to victory."

But, Shadow groaned. "The sooner, the better! Hoshimi is clever than what I can expect from her. My lord, how long do we have to wait on this? I can't stand this any longer! Still! At any moment, by the third sunset's glow, she'll be kissing that spineless pretty boy for sure! But, I won't allow it! Only I can have her! If he and she were to wed, why, I'll. . . I'll. . . I'll. . ."

Before he can say anything more brash, a discordant note from the organ's keyboard was heard and Ganondorf called out strongly and strictly. "SHADOW LINK!"

Now, that shout made the darkened Link 'eeped' a bit and got him to listen.

Ganondorf calmly spoke to him while getting up from his stool. "Now, I know you're upset. But the right time will come upon the both of us. The love between the two are growing slowly, but it has a long way to bloom, still. There's still some time left to keep her far away from him. If we let the two get together, then our plan will be ruined and the object of great value will be out of our reach."

When he mentioned this, Shadow Link thought to himself. _"An object of great value? What will it be?"_

Then Ganondorf announced. "You are right, the Prince is showing some affection for our precious princess. Little Hoshimi may be longing for Shining Link deeply, but I know just the thing to keep the two apart."

Shadow Link is now questioned about what his master is saying. "How? How are we going to that?"

"Must you question your master after I specifically told you not to?" He asked the boy, glaring at him sharply.

"Ah!" Shadow immediately bowed his head. "Forgive me, my lord. A thousand apologies."

"You are forgiven, for now." He replied, crossing his arms. "But remember. If you do one more maneuver that resembles disturbance to my plannings, I will disown you, permanently! If that's what you want!"

When he heard this, Shadow gasped a bit, quickly swam over and wrapped his arms around his master's leg, desperately crying out. "No! I don't want that!"

"That's better. Now you know the consequences, don't let that happen again, if you want to remain here." He said, smirking as he rubbed his head with his hand.

After he done that, the wizard walked over to his cabinet and grabbed a few more ingredients from there. Then he went over to his cauldron and dropped the ingredients into it. He is now working on what he's going to do next and Shadow Link watched.

Once Ganondorf is done with the ingredients, his smirk grown wider as he got his magic working together with what he just put into the cauldron. "I will never allow Thor's daughter to win that prince's heart! Both: Hyrule and Hylia will definitely be mine to rule! Once he's at my feet, begging for his dear life, I'll be invincibly unstoppable! Power will be mine! All the power in this world will be mine!" Again, as he worked his way through his dark magic, he laughed diabolically again. But now, it's far more than that! It's maniacal! Yes, Ganondorf wouldn't let Hoshimi fulfill her love wish so easily!

* * *

Red: Oh my! I wonder what Ganon will be up to right now?

M.S.K: Well there's something I might have him doing. But, you all will soon find out.

Blue: What maneuver will it be?

M.S.K: Are you begging for spilled spoilers, Blue?

Blue: Uh. . . .

M.S.K: Well, minna-san. Stay tuned for what will be next for Hoshimi to face on her stay at Hyrule. Until then, wish me luck and don't forget to leave a review or a comment if you want to! Jya na!

Blue: So. . . . What are spilled spoilers?

M.S.K: -_- . . . . .


	13. Heartbroken Hoshimi

M.S.K: Hey everybody! How are you all doing so far? Yeah, I know you're surprised on how I uploaded this so fast. Yes, this is a bit of a short chapter. But, hold on tight now, 'cause in the next few chapters, that's where all the excitement will be coming in. So. . . Shadow Link?

Shadow: (Hops off from a tree and lands lightly on the ground.) Of course darling. . .

M.S.K: (Eye twitches) Darling. . . . ?

Shadow: Kaoru doesn't own a single thing about Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. She only owns her own characters. Everything relating to LoZ rightfully belongs to Nintendo.

M.S.K: Eh. . . Arigatou. Now, let's go on. Oh! I almost forgot to tell you guys. The song Zelda sang in the last chapter is actually another song by Anri. It's called Lovers on Venus so, I fandubbed the lyrics a bit. Plus, I don't own that song either.

* * *

Chapter 12: Heartbroken Hoshimi

That night, mist shrouded over the seashore around Hyrule Castle. Yet, the moon is still shining its light.

On the balcony, over looking the sea, Shining Link is dressed in a gray colored tunic and he is cloaked with a ebony cape. Now, he is still playing the familiar melody of 'Dolphin Ring' on his ocarina. He doesn't even know that it's Hoshimi's song.

In a short while, Sheik came over to see him privately.

Shining Link finished the last note on the song and brought the ocarina's mouth piece out of his mouth. He then let out a small sigh. Then, he felt Sheik's hand being placed on his shoulder.

After he turned his head around to see him, Sheik spoke to him. "Ryuusei. . ." He began with the prince's nickname. "You know, it might sound strange to you. If there were to be any girl from your dreams, living today, I'd say that I would advise you to keep your eyes steady, look around, and in time, she'll be there. Right before you." He gave him an assuring smile and he walked off.

Now, this is puzzling the Prince. After listening to what Sheik had said to him, he wouldn't know if really did meet the girl he's looking for. He looked up at the window of one of the towers; which is Hoshimi's bedroom, and saw her, combing her hair.

Hoshimi caught sight of him, looking up to her, and waved at him. Then, she walked off to her bed and blew out the candle light, so that she can go to sleep.

Shining Link smiled a bit. But, his smile turned into a discouraged frown. He looked at his ocarina for a bit, then raised it up into the air with his hand. He was about to throw the instrument into the ocean but, a thought struck him. Maybe it would be a bad idea to throw it into the water and forget about finding his lady. Plus, this instrument was passed down in his family for generations. It would be unwise to possess a family treasure long enough to throw it away. He slowly lowered his hand with the instrument in it and he made another slight sigh. He placed the ocarina in his pocket and started to head off to bed too.

Before he can head inside, he heard a voice singing. It's pretty familiar too. It sang. _"~Please, marry me! A Dolphin Ring is one simple gift you'd give me for your return of affection to me.~" _Shining Link quickly went over to the railing of the balcony and he saw a strange figure walking upon the beach. It was a young girl, dressed in dark blue dress and a black cape. She had flowing black hair that's blown by the wind and she happens to have the same aquamarine colored eyes. She looked a lot like Hoshimi, in spite of her different features. She is even singing with a voice that sounded almost like Hoshimi's, although he doesn't quite know that yet. Around her neck, she's wearing a ruby red pendant. _"Who's that? That voice sounds faintly familiar. . ."_ He thought to himself as he continued to stare at the girl who's walking slowly on bare foot among the sand.

She continued to sing. _"I've wiped my tears away, so please do take my hand. With no words alone, your hand wrapped in mine is all I truly need.~"_ When she sang those words, her pendant glowed and a stream of red smoke flowed from it and it was coming up closer and closer to Shining Link's eyes. Once smoke stream reached his eyes, it seeped through into both of them! After that, his eyes became opaque gray.

Much later on, it's morning again and it's beautiful and bright. Navi is flying around and about cheerfully. Then, she flew into Hoshimi's window, gleefully calling out. "Hoshimi! Hey! Hoshimi! Hey! Wake up! Listen! Listen!"

Now, this shouting, slowly woke Hoshimi up. At first, she is about to wave her hand in the air to knock the little fairy away. But after Navi ducked, her ivory head finally perked up to meet the fairy, who cheerfully announced. "Congratulations, to you, Honey! We made it!"

Hoshimi rubbed her eyes and raised her eyebrow to wonder what's making this fairy so excited, this morning.

Navi giggled at this. "Does that mean you don't know? Well you may not believe this. But, all of Hyrule is talking about it! The lucky Prince is going to be having the bells tolling 'ding dong, ding dong' this afternoon! He's going to get married, Hoshimi!"

Hoshimi is now, wide awake! Her eyes snapped open wide!

The fairy gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "I'm just here to wish you luck, dear. I'll see you later!" Then, she flew out of the window.

But, before she can do so, Hoshimi jumped off her bed. While running over to the window, she fell down on her side. But, she got up and quickly caught the fairy, danced with her for a bit in a circle, and gave her a kiss back. The Princess of Hylia is happy, herself, now that she's given the news. She's about to head downstairs until she stopped by, at her wall mirror. She premed herself a bit, then quickly head out the door.

She is about to reach the last set of stair steps just to meet a shocking surprise. Her excited face turned into a surprised one. She quickly hid behind a pillar and looked down at what she's seeing. What she's witnessing with her own eyes is that there's King Phoebus with Queen Raina, Liliana, and Sheik and they're talking with Shining Link, who is holding someone by the waist. Someone who is like. . . Her! There's the girl the he had seen last night and she's clinging on to him! _Her_ prince!

King Phoebus spoke to his son. "Well now, my son! It's like I told you! When you take the blessing of the 'Spirit of the Stars' with you, you will be finding the one you're looking for! It really happened! Well done, well done."

Queen Raina laid her head on her husband's shoulder. "You don't know how proud I am of you, dear."

"I'm grateful for that too, father and mother." The Prince humbly answered. He's not like himself, though. His eyes are still opaque.

Sheik rubbed the back of his head and said. "Well, it looks like I've been misjudging for a while, Ryuusei. This mystery girl of yours really does exist. And I must say, she is very ravishing, as I do say so, myself."

Hoshimi couldn't believe her eyes. How is it that this black haired girl over there, came out of nowhere, and get the chance to wrap her arms around the one she loved? Shining Link will never turn on her! The one he found on the seashore! So, why is it that he has to be with a different girl?

The King took the girl's hand and shook it. "Congratulations dear. . . um. . ."

"Kuromi." The girl said her name to him.

Now, Hoshimi is more surprised. Her voice sounds exactly like hers before it was taken by Ganondorf!

"Kuromi? It sounds a bit strange, but it its lovely." The King replied.

Then, Shining Link spoke to his family. "Mother, Father, Liliana, Sheik, my bride and I are wishing to be married as soon as possible."

Now, those words send a shock to Hoshimi! She remembered the little fairy mentioning news to her that the Prince is marrying. But, she's not expecting it to be someone else! She's expecting the bride to be her! She's the one who saved Shining Link from drowning!

The conversation continued with Sheik saying. "Of course, Ryuusei. But I think we shouldn't do it right away, though. The preparations take time and . . ."

Before the Sheikah can say another word, the Prince announced. "Your prince has spoken, Sheik. The ceremony will be celebrated this afternoon. Our wedding ship will be departing at sunset."

Now, this made the family look at each other for a bit. Then, the King replied to his son. "Oh. . . Okay as you wish."

Hoshimi hid herself completely behind the pillar and the words about the wedding taking place on a ship at sunset rang throughout her head. Today is the third day and by the third sunset, she'll lose her chances, her prince, and the golden opportunity to stay as a Hylian forever! She felt an urge to cry building up in her, but she quickly fled away from the lobby and down the hallway.

Kuromi however smirked as she continued to cling on to the prince for herself. Then she laid her head upon his shoulder. While doing so, she looked down at her ruby pendant. Inside it, there's a glowing orb. Then a dark shadow appeared from behind her and whispered to her without being noticed by the Royal Family. "Ha ha ha. . . Nicely done, Kuromi. With that little ivory haired princess away, we'll be setting the stage for the perfect part of the plan! There's nothing that can stop you now! You just keep doing your part during the big wedding this afternoon!"

"Yes. . . ." She whispered back to the shadow, menacingly.

From behind a wall, Erune and Snow are observing what's going on with the prince and the new girl. "Hmm. . . Something's screwy here. I don't like that girl. Not one little bit." Said the white fairy. "Shining Link will never be pleased with someone like her. She looks a lot like Hoshimi. But, look at that disgusting hair color! Aye me!"

Erune agreed. "Plus, there's something wrong with his highness too. Look at his eyes. They're always in a platinum white color but, not this grayish. It looks like he's hypnotized or something."

Mid-day passed and it's now later afternoon. The sun is starting to set amongst the sea, giving it a deep orange color. From the dock of the palace, a wedding theme is playing from the Royal Wedding Ship and the invited guests of Hyrule are gathered as they socialize with each other about what's going to take place on deck.

With the ship is sailing away, the only person who's left, standing on the dock is Hoshimi, dressed in her ivory dress again. With a heavy heart, she watched the ship, drifting off, leaving her behind. In fact, she isn't planning to hop aboard on to it. Not as an uninvited acquaintance anyway. Once the ship is further away from her, Hoshimi slowly fell on her knees. Her prince is now going away. Far away. She really wanted to do anything for him and please every whim of his heart. She had a lot of ups and downs with him since her second day in Hyrule. But now, it seems like her time is running out and regrets won't change a thing. She then looked at her reflection on the water and thought to herself. _"In a matter of moments, I will turn back into a Mer-Hylian and return to the sea. . . where I was born. . . where I belong. . ."_ She also remembered the consequence she'll endure if she fails to marry the Shining Link. At this moment, Hoshimi doesn't seem to have the strength to fight her tears any longer, for they are now filling up her aquamarine eyes.

The poor princess pulled out her pearl white ocarina, stared at it for a bit, and puts it up to her mouth. Then, she began playing the lullaby of her family out to the sea.

From below the water, Link, Zelda, Blue, Red, and Vio heard the instrument's melody and they swam up to the surface, knowing that it's from Hoshimi.

Once she's done playing the song, she held her instrument in her hands and waited for them. Suddenly, she heard a five splashes. Up ahead, she can see her brothers and sister swimming to her! They answered her call, just like what Zelda have told her!

Link and the others swam over to the dock and they found their younger sister, looking at them with saddened eyes, filling up with tears.

_"Link, Blue, Red, Vio, Zelda. . . ."_ She thought sorrowfully while showing them what she's feeling right now.

Link hopped up from the water and with his own arms, he climbed up to the dock to meet his sister's face. "Oh, Hoshimi. . . you look so sad. Was there something wrong, sister? Is the Prince going to marry another?"

Hoshimi nodded her head, slowly and sadly.

With a small gasp, Link climbed up on deck to sit next to her. As he done that, Red, Zelda, Blue, and Vio did the same thing.

Red spoke. "Oh dear! Hoshimi, this can't be the truth! If he marries someone else, then. . . then. . . as soon as you transform back to your original state by the light of today's sunset. . ."

Then, Vio finished for him. "You'll have to plunge back down and surrender yourself to Ganondorf!"

"Isn't that what he said to you?" Zelda asked her.

In another way of 'yes', while letting her tears flow down upon her cheeks, Hoshimi placed her fists on the floor of the deck, still kneeing down. Then, she began to weep bitterly and silently. She is completely heartbroken, now.

For now, the only thing her siblings can do is sit next to their sister, and trying to comfort her while watching her crying and waiting to return to her original form. Link laid his hand upon her head while Zelda hugged her gently. Blue is about to say something. But then again, he is feeling deeply sorry for Hoshimi's loss. Red is about to cry too. But not in the way he usually does. His eyes are being filled with tears, slowly. Vio however, just let out a slight sigh, crossed his arms, and shook his head slowly. They may not know what Ganondorf and Shadow will have in store for her once the sun sinks over the horizon and after Hoshimi's legs join together and become the fish tail they all once knew.

Hoshimi raised her head up a bit and stared out towards the ship as it sailed further away towards the sunset. While crying still, her tears are dropping into the sea. Then, she picked up her ocarina that's lying next to her, held it up to her lips and began playing a really sad and heartbreaking song.

While listening to this sorrowful, yet sweet song from their sister's instrument, Link and his fellow siblings looked out towards the sunset too.

* * *

Red: Oh. . . Poor Hoshimi! (Whimpers)

M.S.K: I don't blame you, Red.

Blue: Well, I do know who's behind this.

Vio: Yeah, but you shouldn't blurt it out.

Blue: But why?

M.S.K: Must you always make up ways to do spoilers? Anyway, it looks like there's another villain in this story.

Link: Why didn't you say so from the beginning?

M.S.K: It _was_ at the beginning. . . . of the chapter. Well, the story isn't over yet! Keep your eyes open and cross your fingers! So, leave a comment or a review! See ya!


	14. Almost a Wedding Fight!

M.S.K: Hello everybody! Thanks for the patience. Because, recently, I've been working non-stop on this chapter. I couldn't really put it down, that day ago. It just kept me writing until the end of it. But, that doesn't mean it's the end of the story yet! XD There's a surprise for you in this one! So, Zelda? Will you do the disclaimer for me?

Zelda: Of course! Kaoru-san doesn't own anything about Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. She only owns her own characters for the story. Everything related to the Four Swords story of the Zelda Series belongs to Nintendo.

M.S.K: Thank you very much, Zelda! Now, on with the show! Hidey ho! I made a rhyme!

* * *

Chapter 13: Almost-a-Wedding Fight! Hoshimi VS. Kuromi!

Navi is now flying in circles around the wedding ship, eagerly waiting for the moment to see her dear friend getting married to the Prince. But then, she heard some sinister whispering from one of the portholes of the ship, even from far away. She flew towards the porthole and took a peek at what's inside. What she found is that the bride is not Hoshimi, but a girl who looks a lot like her. But what's different about her is that her hair is ebony black. It's Kuromi! "Hmm? That's weird. That's not really Hoshimi, isn't it?" She said to herself.

While Kuromi is dressing herself up, she took one more look at the ruby pendant she had around her neck and smirked again. "Heh, heh, heh, heh . . ." She laughed to herself.

Now, this gives the little blue fairy the chills. "Now, that's not how Hoshimi will laugh at all."

As soon as Kuromi is fully dressed in her wedding attire, she walked over to the mirror and looked into it. She laughed again. "Ha, ha! Gorgeous am I? If I do say so, myself! Why, with all my wondrous charms, that silver haired girl will never outshine me, now that I have the Prince! Hee hee! May I ask, do I really look like a perfect princess, who's going to be a great Queen-to-be, Master Ganondorf?"

The mirror's reflection rippled and the face of the Sea Wizard appeared on it! He smirked too when he saw Kuromi in her outfit. "Of course, of course, my dear. But remember, once you have the Prince completely under your control, you should leave the Princess of Hylia to me. I'll know just what to do about her. Let us bring our plan of conquest to success! You and me! Ha ha ha ha!" He started another maniacal laugh again.

"Yes, my lord! Now that I have that girl's voice and the Prince, I'll be the one who will _definitely_ have everything! Ha ha ha!" She laughed too.

"You're too much!" The wizard teased.

"Oh! Stop that! You're embarrassing me, Master!" Kuromi giggled while dancing around the cabin in circles.

Navi analyzed the situation and gasped. "Ganondorf! Oh no! Oh dear! Why. . . Why, I ought to. . . !" She flew backwards once, then quickly charged towards the porthole's window! But, "Ow!" When she hurt herself, she knew that she wasn't strong enough to break through a window with such a small body.

Navi regain her composure and hastily flew back to Hyrule Castle's shore and towards the dock. She cried out. "Hoshimi! Hoshimi!" Luckily, she found her sitting at the dock with her siblings. She's about to fly downwards to them. But, she landed into the water, for she's a little exhausted from flying from a long distance.

Everyone on the dock stopped their moping and looked over to the little blue light that's in the water. Then, they saw Navi, flying out and up to Hoshimi's face. "Ho. . . Hoshimi. . ." She huffed. "I have something. . . to tell you. . ." She looked over at Link and the rest of the Royal Children. "You all should listen too. . ."

"Why are you in such a rush, just now, Navi?" Link asked her.

"Listen! I was flying for a while, obviously. Then. . . Then. . ."

"Then what?" Asked Red.

"This ought to be good. . ." Blue mumbled impatiently.

Navi regained her breath and spoke out loud to them. "I saw this black-haired Hoshimi in the wedding ship!"

"Black-haired Hoshimi?" The Four Princes and Zelda exclaimed in unison, together.

Hoshimi, however blinked in surprise. She knows that this 'Black-Haired Hoshimi' is the one who is going to be marrying the Prince.

"Yes! Yes!" Cried the fairy again. "She is talking with a familiar figure on the mirror and she's using a voice that's apparently not her own! Do you all see what I'm getting at?" Then she turned to the princess. "The Hoshimi I saw back there is not the real Hoshimi! She's a clone of you! And she has your Prince under her control through dark magic from the aid of Ganondorf and she's going to trick him into marrying her!"

After listening to everything the fairy said, Hoshimi gasped silently! She never knew that Ganondorf is behind that girl! He has been trying to keep Shining Link out of her reach by creating a clone of her!

"Ganondorf?" Zelda gasped too.

"I thought so!" Vio exclaimed, laying a fist upon the palm of his other hand. "I always knew that Ganondorf will be up to something. Once he gave Hoshimi what she wanted in order be with the Prince. People like him always have a thing with making deals, treating them like a game of some sort! He will let it go along but, in a while, he may not play fair."

Blue snarled, stiffening his hands and curling his fingers up like talons. "Argh! I knew we can never trust him! He's nothing more than a dirty, lying, cheating, disagreeable, despicable, untrustworthy, double-crossing, two-faced, conniving, dastardly sea devil! Oh! He's going to get it! I really ought to have his face meeting the impact of my mallet! I will have his head separated from his shoulders if I have to!"

Link then spoke. "If this is what's really what he's doing, then we ought to do something and fast!"

"Yes! Yes! We need to keep that evil looking clone of Hoshimi away from the Prince and quickly too!" Navi exclaimed again.

"But, how are we going to do that?" Red asked.

"What do you mean by that ridiculous question, Red?" Blue asked back.

"I mean, the ship is far away from us, now." He stated. "Plus, with the sun setting down, we have very little time left! Especially you, Hoshimi."

"He's right, sister!" Vio said to her. "You got to have your first kiss with the Prince in a matter of minutes, now. Or else it will be too late, once you change back!"

Hoshimi got up and looked out towards the sun and the wedding ship. _"If he doesn't have any romantic interest in you in any which way, by the light of the third sunset, you'll turn back into your natural form. . ."_ Ganondorf's words echoed throughout her mind. Seeing that there's no other way besides going after the boat by swimming, Hoshimi thought to herself with stern eyes and her hands gripped into fists. _"Right! I'm not going to let that wizard toy with me! And I'm not going to let that clone take away my Prince and get away with it! It's now or never, Hoshimi! So, there's no point in waiting!"_

After glancing a few backward steps first, she ran over to the edge of the dock and jumped into the water. Once she done that she quickly rose up to the surface, treading a bit.

Vio knew that Hoshimi won't be able to catch up to the ship this way. He quickly spotted some barrels bundled up together with some rope and he used his sword to cut it, letting the barrels fall on to the water loose. "Quick! Grab on!" He instructed his sister. Then, he and the others fell back into the water.

Hoshimi found one of the barrels with enough rope wrapped around it. She also found a long strap of it, trailing from the barrel and showed it to Link and Red.

"Green! Red!" Vio ordered out again. "Grab that rope and pull Hoshimi over to the ship as fast as your fins will let you and be quick about it!"

"Sure thing!" Link saluted.

"We'll try!" Red responded too.

So, the two pulled and tugged on the rope and they began swimming towards the wedding ship, taking Hoshimi with them.

Zelda spoke to Vio. "We need to get back to Father! He must know about the whole thing!"

"We should!" He agreed.

"Hey! Hey!" Navi shouted. "What about me? What am I supposed to do?"

Vio turned to the fairy and gave out his order. "And you! Go out and seek a way to stall the wedding! So whatever you do, Navi! Don't ever. . I repeat! Don't_ ever_ let that clone say 'I do'!" Then, he, Zelda, and Blue dove underwater to swim back to the Palace of Hylia to find their father and told them everything what's happening.

Navi is about to fly but she stopped, asking herself. "Wait! Stall the wedding? Why. . . Why! I know just what to do!" So, without waiting a second or two, she flew over to a different part of the sea shore and made some squealing noises to say that there's something really fishy going on! Those squealing noises resonate throughout the seashore, alerting some sea birds, dolphins, seals, sea lions, elephant seals, and some lobsters and crabs! Once she got all of the animals together, she cried out. "Come on, everybody! Let's get a move-on! This is urgent! We got an emergency here, and I'm in need of your assistance! To the wedding boat!" Without further ado, everyone followed the little fairy

Right now, on the deck of the ship, the wedding theme is playing and all the guests are bowing their heads to the couple that's passing by upon the red carpet, towards the priest at the altar. This couple is the still-hypnotized Shining Link and Hoshimi's clone, Kuromi.

King Phoebus and his wife are also there in the ceremony, with Sheik, Liliana, and Erune as they watched the two making their way to the altar.

Erune is still feeling that there's something wrong about this marriage, though.

Snow is checking things out up close while hiding among the crowd. She is sitting on someone's foot. When she saw Kuromi walking by, she flew up slowly and met her face. Once this black-haired girl saw her, the fairy gave her a stern glare. She's still sensing something suspicious about her. "Hmph! I don't think I've seen you before." She said to her.

Kuromi pulled back her hand and slapped the white fairy away, sending her up near the ceiling. Then, she returned her attention to the path.

Snow regained her composure after that slap and huffed. "Oh! How rude!"

The couple are now at the altar. The priest cleared his throat and began to speak. "Dearly beloved people of Hyrule! We have gathered here today, to bear witness. . ."

Meanwhile, Red and Link are still swimming over to the ship while their sister is holding on to the barrel they're pulling. They are getting a bit closer and closer to the boat, although they are hardly getting anywhere faster with their swimming.

"Pull!" Link grunted to his brother.

"Don't worry, Hoshimi! We're getting there! Almost! Just hold on!"

Hoshimi is still not sure if they are going to get there in time. She's worried that Kuromi will be saying her vows before she gets there. _"Hurry!"_ Her mind squirmed.

Back on deck, it doesn't seem that vows from the couple are spoken yet. The Priest is still doing his part. "Now, do you, Prince Shining Link, take Kuromi to be your lawfully wedded wife for as long as you both shall live?"

The Prince, still under the control of Ganondorf's magic from the girl next to him, spoke. "I do. . ."

"And uh, do you. . ." Before the priest can say anything else, a loud screech distracts everyone in the ceremony.

Everyone turned their attention up above, except for the Prince who is just standing at his spot.

What they saw is Navi, leading a flock of albatrosses and seagulls in the sky.

"All right, fellas! Let's crash this party!" Then, the fairy and the seabirds dive bombed sharply towards Kuromi!

Kuromi just dodged their air dive. But, when she brought her head back up, she can see that they're coming back down for another!

Navi and her winged companions swooped down and caused her to fall by flying underneath the skirt of her wedding dress!

"Woah!" The black-haired girl screamed and she fell to the floor on her back!

Snow cheered. "Yes! Yes!"

Then, the entire crowd was in a panic when the seals, sea lions, and elephant seals jumped up from the sea and right on deck! They're all lunging over for the bride! Some of them are chasing a few guests around the boat.

"What is this? What's going on?" Raina exclaimed.

Sheik got on to his position, ready to defend the two royals.

"Gracious! The animals have gone mad!" The King gasped.

Liliana is about to bring her daughter away from the party crash. But, Erune just wanted to watch this for a while.

The wedding crash is still going on when pelicans are flying over Kuromi's head, when she's struggling to get up. While flying over her, the pelicans were dropping bucket-fulls of sea water! The last one dropped a crab on top of her and it began pinching her cheeks! The clone of Hoshimi screamed in pain and a horde of lobsters and some other crabs leapt on top of her!

Erune was giggling softly when she saw what happened.

Kuromi tried to pull the shellfish off her. "Oh! Get off me you little. . . ! Oh!" Before she can do anything else, a sea lion picked her up on his nose, bounced her up and down on it for a bit, and used her to play catch with the other sea lions, seals, and elephant seals!

At the very same time, Link, Red, and Hoshimi made it to the wedding ship! The two brothers let their sister climb aboard as they dove underwater to get back to the others.

The sea lions, seals, and elephant seals are using Kuromi on their little catch game for a while longer, until the baby seal bounced her off on top of the refreshment table! Kuromi landed upon the wedding cake along with the barrels of cider!

Hoshimi made it to the railing of the ship. When she got on board, she made an amused grin of what she saw. She found Navi in the air and showed her a 'thumbs up', saying _"Well done, Navi!"_

"Sure thing, honey!" The fairy squealed with delight.

Kuromi rose up from the pile of cake mush growling and upset. "Oh! Those beasts! All of my beautiful clothes! Ruined!" She is about to charge at the barking sea mammals until, she slipped on a puddle of spilled cider, causing her to break both of her heeled shoes and land on her back again. "Ow!" Then, she heard some clicking noises. She looked behind her and some dolphins were in the air. Then, she was sprayed by more sea water from them! "Gah!" Now, she's more of a big mess than before when she fell on to the cake.

Navi flew over and circled around Hoshimi's Clone rapidly while screeching at the same time.

Utterly annoyed, Kuromi shouted. "Oh! You pesky little insect!" She grabbed Navi and flicked her over to a nearby wall, roughly!

The poor fairy landed on the wall with a _smack_! And she slid down the wall and landed on the floor, moaning weakly. "Oh. . ."

Hoshimi gasped silently and everyone else, who saw the whole thing gasped too.

"Oh! How dare she!" Snow screamed.

Kuromi huffed. "Hmph! That shall teach you some respect!"

Navi tried to get up, but she fell back to the floor feebly.

Now, Hoshimi couldn't believe what this clone did to the little fairy! She flicked her to a wall as if she were a fly! The Mer-Hylian Princess' anger deepened as she glared at her clone.

Kuromi looked over at Hoshimi and shifted her eyebrow. "What?"

Hoshimi's fury is beginning to boil up and she charged towards Kuromi, pushing her! Then she pointed her finger at her. Though she doesn't have her voice, she mouthed words to her, saying, _"You imbecile! You'll pay for what you did to her!"_

Well, Kuromi isn't stupid enough to misunderstand her silent lips. "Well, she deserved it and you shouldn't be here! This is _my_ marriage!" She got up and ran over to the Prince, wrapping her arms around his arm. "Now, come on, Shining Cakes. Let's finish the job and get this party over with!"

Now, Hoshimi isn't willing to accept that as a proper response. Plus, seeing her clone clinging on to her prince made her anger boil even more! She mouthed again, _"You can't do that to my friend! Ever! You and Ganondorf almost broke my heart! You two can take away my Prince! But when you take away my dignity, that's the part when I get really, really angry! Get ready to drown, girl!"_

Kuromi snarled too as she lets go of the prince. "So! You want to fight me for him, eh? Well, I accept!"

With that, both: Hoshimi and her clone charged into each other and brawled!

The Priest, who's hiding behind the altar, saw the fight and he announced in a panicky way. "Um, I pronounce myself. . . Gone!" Then, he quickly ran off to where he can hide.

Everyone is now witnessing the two girls fighting, one on one, while the Prince is still not moving from his spot. They couldn't believe this is happening as they stared with wide eyes. They never actually see two girls fighting each other before.

King Phoebus whispered to Sheik. "Is this happening now?"

"Yes, sir." He answered, sighing. "A fight between two young women."

Kuromi just got Hoshimi by slapping her on the cheek. But, the real princess recovered and punched her clone back! The clone is about to give her another blow before, Hoshimi completely disappeared with the use of Farore's Wind. She looked around to see if she can find her, but she was pushed down when Hoshimi reappeared by landing her foot on to her stomach!

Kuromi wasted no time by knocking Hoshimi off her stance by shoving her feet aside, allowing her to fall. She fired a flame of dark magic at the princess but, she dodged it just in time!

Hoshimi began to use Din's Fire which unexpectedly let out a strong flame, this time! The flame flew towards Kuromi and caught her! Now, she couldn't believe what happened! Her Din's Fire was a lot better than the last time she used it! _"Yes! Yes!"_ Her mind exclaimed!

Now, she's going to finish her off with a dash of her Naryu's Love! A giant crystal trapped Kuromi and it bashed on to the floor with her in it! As it broke, the shards scratched her up a bit!

"Gyah!" The black-haired clone shrieked!

Hoshimi stood, huffing a bit. Then she ran over to Navi who just got up. She picked her up, giving her a look, asking her if she's okay.

"I'm fine. My injuries just recovered, so thank you." She said. That made Hoshimi sigh in relief.

Kuromi sat herself up and growled at Hoshimi. "Who do you think you are. . . you white-haired wretch?"

Hoshimi turned to her and mouthed, _"The game's over, Kuromi. You're finished!"_

But, her clone laughed. "Hah! Actually, I'm not Kuromi at all!" Then, her aquamarine eyes turned ruby red, her teeth bared sharp fangs, her nails grew a bit longer, and her wedding dress turned into a black one! Plus, white highlights appeared on the bangs of her hair! "I'm actually a living shadow of you! I. . . am. . . Shadow Hoshimi!"

Everyone on the boat gasped at the appearance of this shadow! Hoshimi couldn't believe what Ganondorf created! He made a dark copy of her just like he did with her brothers long ago! _"So! You've showed your true form!"_ She mouthed to her.

"That's right! Now you'll have a taste of what darkness will look like to you!" Shadow Hoshimi lunged more of the raw dark magic towards Hoshimi, who is frantically trying to dodge them!

"Ha ha ha! Give it up! You can't win!" Her clone laughed again!

After dodging some more of her clone's power, Hoshimi was then pushed to the floor by her! She winced a bit and she saw Shadow Hoshimi looming over her with a sinister looking dagger in her hand! "I'll be sending you on a little trip to the Dark World, under the orders of Ganondorf! You can say good bye to your Shining Lover Boy!" She's about to lunge the knife down at Hoshimi's heart until, the Princess caught her arm, preventing the impact of the blade!

Hoshimi struggled to push the knife away from her as both of her arms are wobbling, trying to hold it back with all the strength she had left! _"Oh! Her weak spot! Her weak spot! Where's her weak spot?"_ She thought desperately. Then, she noticed her ruby pendant and the glowing sphere that's contained inside it. _"Ah!"_ With her free hand and the other, still grasping her clone's, Hoshimi grabbed the pendant and pulled it away from her neck! Then, she pushed Shadow Hoshimi off her!

Her shadow growled some more until she noticed that her pendant was removed! "Eh?"

Hoshimi showed it to her in her hand.

"What are you doing? Give it back!" She cried desperately, trying to grab it away from her!

Hoshimi glanced backwards over to the railing of the boat and the pendant happened to crack when it landed on the wood.

When that happened, Shadow Hoshimi felt a jerk of pain in her! "Gah!"

Now, this gives Hoshimi a good chance! She now knows what her weakness is! Then, she mouthed to her shadow one more time raising the pendant's gem in the air. _"This is for Navi!"_ She threw the ruby on to the wood once more and her shadow felt bitter pain than before! Then, she raised it up again. _"This is for Shining Link!"_ She made another impact on the ruby with the wooden surface and Shadow Hoshimi's body jerked, making her wobble! Finally, Hoshimi is ready for the last one to finish this fight! _"And this. . . ! This is for me!"_ The ruby finally cracked open as it shattered! The glowing sphere floated slowly into the air.

"Gyaaaaaaaah!" Shadow Hoshimi shrieked in bitter pain as she fell on her knees, grabbing her head. Her body is slowly dissolving too! Into wispy shadows. "I'm dispersing!"

Shining Link's trance ended and he rubbed his eyes. His head felt a little bit of pain too. "Oh. . ." Then he looked around and about of what just happened. "Huh? What happened here? How did I end up here?" He then saw Hoshimi standing over at her shadow, who is slowly disappearing!

Hoshimi crossed her arms in a satisfied way.

With her body slowly fading away, Shadow Hoshimi screamed. "GANONDORF, MY LORD! I'VE FAILED YOU! GYAAAAAAAAAH!" Finally, Shadow Hoshimi is now gone!

Everyone in the crowd just stood there, speechless about Hoshimi's doings.

"What. . . What was that?" Shining Link asked.

Snow came up to him and answered. "A dark, evil, fiendish, bratty, and spoiled version of Hoshimi, herself."

"Huh?" The Prince is still questioned about everything in the whole situation.

The glowing sphere that's free from the red ruby flew and circled around Hoshimi, singing. _"~Time was swallowed by a great man-eating demon from the west. . . A brave knight was called upon, to fight that horrible beast. . . He took up sword and battled the great demon. . .~" _Then, the orb seeped into Hoshimi's throat, allowing her to sing the last verse perfectly! _"~From the beast's armor, an instrument formed!~"_ Hoshimi got her voice back!

King Phoebus, Queen Raina, Sheik, Liliana, and Erune couldn't believe their eyes!

Neither can Shining Link and Snow!

The Prince rubbed his eyes to check if he's dreaming. But, he isn't! "Ho. . . Hoshimi!"

She turned to the Prince and smiled. "Shining Link!" She said to him.

"Yay!" Navi cheered while Snow joined her. Then, they looked at each other. "Say? Do I know you?" She asked her.

"I was about to ask the same thing!" The white fairy exclaimed. "Aren't you the Blue Maiden's Fairy?"

"Yes I am! And I believe you're the White Maiden's Fairy!" Navi said again.

Then, they both exclaimed in unison. "We do know each other! Ha ha!" The two fairies hugged each other and danced together!

Shining Link ran over to Hoshimi with a delighted face as she ran over to him. "You. . . You can speak! You can sing! You're the one with that singing voice! You're the one who saved me!"

"Yes!" She exclaimed back.

Now, the whole crowd is exclaiming to each other of what the two were saying!

"Oh! Quick, you two!" Navi exclaimed. She can see that the sun is almost set!

"Hoshimi! Why didn't I thought about this sooner? It was you the whole time!" Shining Link took her by her waist and brought her close to him.

Hoshimi wrapped her arms around his shoulders too. "Oh! Shining Link! I wanted so much in order to tell you. . ."

The two were about to kiss when warm light shone upon Hoshimi! The sun just sank! Then, she felt her heart skipping a beat! "Ah!" She gasped! Another jolt of pain struck her again and she fell from the Prince's arms and on to the floor! "Oh!" One more shock of pain bolted from her head and throughout her body then, down to her legs. "Kyaah!" She screamed at this! She grabbed her head as she twitched on the floor. "No! No!" She muttered with desperation in her voice.

"Hoshimi!" The Prince cried as he kneeled down to her. "What's wrong? Are you all right?"

But, she muttered again. "No! Not yet! Not yet! I just need more time! Please!" The pain her legs deepened and with the final jolt of it, Hoshimi let out a blood curdling scream! "Kyaaaaah!"

Then, bright light flashed all around her! Everyone shield their eyes.

"Oh no!" Navi gasped. "It's too late! She's turning back!"

"Into what?" Snow asked her.

The light faded and it revealed the big truth to everyone! What they're now seeing made them all gasp slightly!

Hoshimi is now back to what she naturally looks like! She's back in her white tank top and below her torso, her legs have joined together already, transformed back to her glittering fish tail! She was startled when she had turned back to her original form.

Shining Link is startled too! "Ho. . . Hoshimi?"

Then a familiar voice spoke. "Heh! You just don't get it, do you, pretty boy!" Then out of the blue, with another windy wisp of shadows, there's Shadow Link! He's now standing in front of Hoshimi and Shining Link, with his arms crossed over his chest. He had legs too. Though he kept his black hat, under shirt and black tunic, he had leggings and black boots upon them! He must have transformed himself as well, just to get here!

Hoshimi gasped once she saw him. "You!"

He turned his gaze on her and smirked! "Well, I was impressed by you, Princess. I never would've known you are clever enough to figure out that marionette my lord sent up here is a mere shadow of you, just like me. Plus, I was amused that you found her weakness when you are fighting her! I didn't really expect that to happen. But, hah! It did!"

"You're the one behind this, along with Ganondorf?" She asked him back.

"Heh, yeah." He laughed and shrugged. "But, that spoiled little shadow sprite, Shadow Hoshimi. As I've told you before, she's only a puppet! Ah hah!"

"Hold on!" Shining Link shouted. "Just by the name of the Goddesses! Who are you?"

Shadow smirked even more. "Heh, is that really a way to treat a guest, Prince of Hyrule? I'm Shadow Link. A servant to the lord of darkness, Ganondorf!"

That name sent a shock to the whole crowd and the Royal Family!

"Ganondorf? The one who betrayed the Gerudos?" The Prince shouted again!

"Of course!" Replied the Shadow. "Right now, I'm just here to return the favor of you taking good care of my sweet angel fish." He kneeled down to meet Hoshimi's gaze and smirked at her.

Now, she didn't liked it at all this time.

"What are you saying?" Shining Link asked him.

Shadow Link looked up to him with a sly grin again. "What I'm saying is that I'm now going to bring this lovely little mermaid back to the sea with me. Or shall I say, Mer-Hylian Princess Hoshimi, the youngest daughter of Ocean King Thor, the ruler of the Kingdom of Hylia, below the Great Ocean!" He even wrapped his arms around Hoshimi, which made her even more uncomfortable.

What he told everyone send an even bigger surprise! Especially to the Royal Family!

"Mer-Hylian?" Asked Phoebus.

"Hoshimi is a Mer-Hylian girl?" Asked Raina too.

"It cannot be!" Sheik said.

Then, Erune told him. "But, look now! She really is one of them!"

"I thought they only exist in the imagination of young children and sailors." Said Liliana, holding on to her daughter.

Shining Link looked at Hoshimi and her true form. "Hoshimi? Is this true? This whole time, you're really a. . ."

Hoshimi sorrowfully lowered her head as she held her tail up to her chest. "I'm sorry, Shining Link. I was hoping you'll never see me like this. Even though, I'm the one who saved you from the stormy sea. You see, I've been trying to tell you! I did rescued you but, not in the way you imagined it! Above all, I didn't want to frighten or scare anyone!"

Now, Shining Link is too surprised to make another response. He never would have guessed that the girl who saved his life is actually something that his mother used to tell him stories of. But, he sighed and told her. "But, I'm not afraid of you and I will never hurt you for hiding the truth about yourself, either. I adore you for who you are. Not for what you are. Hoshimi, you're not frightening me at all, really." His words made the princess look up at his gentle gaze.

Shadow Link mocked while smirking some more. "Aww, parting is such sweet sorrow. Who would dare to break up such a delicate relationship, in spite of differences? Well, I would!" He quickly scooped Hoshimi up from the floor and hopped on to the ship's railing with her, holding her tightly.

"Wait!" The Prince called out.

"Unhand me at once, Shadow!" Hoshimi commanded trying to struggle out of his grip but, her actions are fruitless!

Shadow Link chuckled at what she was doing. Then he turned back to the Prince, his family, and the rest of the guests who are about to come after him. "We'll be on our way, now!"

King Phoebus called out. "Guards! Seize that creature! But don't harm the girl in his arms!"

His guards were about to come after Shadow. But, before they can reach him, they were all driven away by his dark powers, sending flying to the other railing of the ship!

The King was shocked! He didn't expect that his men will be flung aside with one swoop by a young boy!

Then, Shadow laughed. "Hah! You pathetic fools should all stand aside for now. I will not tolerate unwanted guests. Dear Hoshimi and I will be having a private reception of our own, tonight! So, thanks and farewell! Ha ha ha!" With that, he jumped off the railing to dive back into the sea, taking the struggling Princess with him!

"Hoshimi!" Shining Link cried out when he found that he was too late to take her back!

"Shining Link!" Hoshimi cried out too before landing in the water as she is taken away by Shadow, who is carrying her downwards to the bottom of the sea!

While seeing his princess gone, Shining Link hung his head low and slowly started to cry. It's all his fault that he would have known soon that since his love is a member of a different race, he should have just stayed at her side long enough!

King Phoebus walked over to his son and sighed as he laid his hand on his shoulder. "Oh, I'm sorry, my son." He is feeling sad about what happened. "There are some things in this world that you just have to let go."

But, the Prince now, raising his head, revealing his eyes filled with tears of anger, replied. "No. . . ! There are some things in this world that you don't want to let go!" He really ought to do something! Hoshimi saved his life and now, he should do the same for her in return!

* * *

Red: This is big trouble for Hoshimi! I hope neither Shadow Link or Ganondorf doesn't harm her!

M.S.K: Well, Ganon might be after something else, you know.

Link: Ganondorf does happen to be a play-brain. Once he makes a game out of the deal he makes with someone, he'll never let that person win! Even if his client wins, he'll never let him or her go free.

M.S.K: You can say that again.

Blue: (Giggles)

M.S.K: What's so funny, Blue?

Blue: The Wedding Crash! Ha ha! XD

M.S.K: (Snickers a little) You're right. It is funny! I just wanted to add something to this chapter along with Hoshimi's first cat fight with her shadow. Now, I hope you're liking this chapter. More excitement is yet to come on the next chapter. So, cross your fingers. I'll be seeing you all next time. So, don't forget to review and comment! Matta ne!

Blue: What will happen on the next chapter?

M.S.K: You'll soon see!


	15. The Fate of Thor's Trident

M.S.K: Ah! Hello everyone! I'm sorry I kept you all waiting for a while. Now, I don't know how long it's been. What kept me busy is that I have trouble sleeping since the last few days. I couldn't even get myself to sleep around ten. Plus, what made my mind muggle is how I'm going to do this chapter. I don't know if I should put the two parts of the final act into one chapter or not. But, I decided to save more time by separating them into two chapters.

Vio: Was there something else that tempt you from writing?

M.S.K: Well, apparently, yes. I was easily distracted on finding the recipe for this Japanese dish, Okonomiyaki. So, Navi? Will you be so kind as to be the disclaimer for this chapter?

Navi: Of course! Kaoru doesn't own anything about Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. She only owns her own characters. Everything related to the Four Swords Saga belongs to Nintendo.

M.S.K: Thank you. Now, things are really starting to heat up in this chapter. So do enjoy!

Vio: Quick question, what's Okonomiyaki?

M.S.K: It's kind of like a pancake. But with some cabbage, seafood, bacon, and topped with some mayonaise and some okonomi sauce. It's quite popular around Japan.

Vio: Huh, sounds delicious.

* * *

Chapter 14: The Fate of Thor's Trident

"Stop!" Hoshimi screamed while still being carried down the water by Shadow. "Where do you think you're taking me?"

But, he just smirked at her. "Heh! Feisty as ever, since our first encounter. Very cute!"

"I told you to let go!" She shrieked while trying to wriggle out of his arms. But, it's still useless against his strong arms. They are now getting further and further away from the surface of the water and Shadow is pretty fast at his swimming with his fins.

Shadow Link has taken Hoshimi down to an area below the water where they're now surrounded by various rocks. It's now evening, and most of the area is pretty dark.

Once he stopped on the sea bed with her, he held her wrists in his hands. Then, he smiled maliciously at her. "Since we're both back in the sea, you are going to be spending quite a lot of time together with me."

But, Hoshimi tried pulling her hands away. "Get your hands off me! I don't know what you're up to. But, I do know that your lord is up to something with this, ever since I turned back! Why did you bring me back here, after coming up to the surface? Did he sent you?"

"You're correct on that, Princess." He answered calmly and slyly. "But, there's nothing more that I can tell you, for it's practically. . . secret."

"I can see that!" She hollered again. Her patience is running thin with him around. "What's his true reason for this?"

Shadow looked at Hoshimi with another sly look and told her. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough, dear. By the way, why with so much aggression? You should be rejoicing for this moment and for what I'm planning for tonight."

Now, Hoshimi is pretty confused as she narrowed her eyes and raising an eyebrow. "What?"

Shadow then swam towards her and caressed her cheek with his right hand while the other is running through the strands of her silver ivory hair. He began to chuckle with a purr. "Oh. . . You won't be needing that Shiny Pretty Boy, now that he's out of the way. . . It will be much better for you when we become one, you and I."

Hoshimi began to shiver under his touch all of a sudden. _"What's he saying and why is he touching me this way?"_ Her mind quivered. Then, she was snapped out of her thoughts when she let out a small gasp when she saw that the fingers of his right hand are touching her soft lips and his left hand his slowly moving upon the nape of her neck. Now, she can see him looking at her with a hungry expression in his red colored eyes.

Then he began to speak as he stopped at what he's doing first, and began to wrap his arms around her waist desirably. "My lovely Hoshimi of Hylia. . . Inside this body of mine, my heart is longing for yours. So forget about that Prince and turn your affection to me. . ."

"What are you talking about?" She asked him back.

"Well, there's a certain part of the deal you made with Lord Ganondorf, in which you must know, sweet one. . ." He said, still holding her. Then he leaned over to her ear to whisper. "If you didn't get to win the heart of the Prince. . . you'll have to marry me instead. . ."

Once those words were whispered to her, Hoshimi's aquamarine eyes were widened with shock! _"What? That. . . That's impossible! That can't be true! I'm supposed to turn my heart to another if I don't marry my Prince? There's no way this Shadow can fall for me too!"_ Her mind squirmed. She had already admitted that she is a very attractive mermaid. Yet, not many Mer-Hylian men had the courage to come up to her and tell her how pretty she looks. Plus, it is rare that a person like Shadow would fall in love with her.

"Yes. . ." He said to her in a sadistic way in his voice. He even turned Hoshimi around and hugged her from behind as he ran his right arm around her waist and his left arm across her collar bone. "That Prince will never be cool enough for you. I'm the one you should have. I'm in deep love with you, Hoshimi. By the time when things in Hylia were settled, you and I will be together until death do us apart. So what do you say, my dear?"

Well, Hoshimi is beginning to think that this situation is getting completely ridiculous and unreasonable after what he said to her. So, she made her truthful answer. "Shadow Link, I believe you made your proposal too late. When Shining Link began to realize that I'm the one who saved his life, I can see from his eyes that he really loves me for who I am. Of course, I will always plan to love him back. I was hoping to get together with him, until you showed up after the potion wore off. So, I can't return your feelings."

Her answer made Shadow blink for a bit. But, he tried again with a silk-like voice. "But, you aren't married to him right now, are you? So, you may think you're not interested in me. But, you know I'll have you, sweet princess. . . I'll always make sure that spineless prince doesn't come between us. . ."

"But I know he will." She said to him again. "He'll surely come back for me and I know it! He truly loves me! On top of that, you'll have no chances of outsmarting him, Shadow Link! Even with the amount of dark magic you have already!"

Then, this made Shadow cringe! He gripped her wrist tightly, causing her to wince at the pain of it. "Now, you listen to me closely, darling! According to the deal you're tied in with my lord, you're supposed to marry me! He even grant me permission for me to make you my bride! So, if you don't agree with it, well then, that's too bad! From the very start, I've been wanting the chance of marrying you for so long. So tonight, you and I are going to be wed under direct orders of Lord Ganondorf!"

Hoshimi pulled her fist away again. "No! You can't have me and there's no way it can happen!"

"Ah, I will, dear. I will. . . ." Then, Shadow pulled her towards him to keep her in a tight embrace. "You are destined to be mine. . ."

From there, Hoshimi is really loathing the discomfort he's giving her. "No!"

"Oh, yes. . . All mine. . ."

The struggling princess pushed him away from her, crying out. "Stop this, Shadow! I love Shining Link only and you can't force me to love you!"

Shadow smirked again. "Oh, can't I?" Then he clicked his fingers. From the sound of the click, a swirling cloud of black colored sea foam enveloped Hoshimi! After a quick moment, the foam cloud disappeared, revealing Hoshimi dressed in a black colored Mer-Hylian wedding robe! On her head she had a ebony crown with a black veil flowing from it!

After that's done, Hoshimi gasped as she looked at what she's now wearing!

"Now do you get it, dear?" Shadow chuckled as he swam behind her, whispering into her ear. "You're _truly_ destined to be mine. . ." He even laid his hands upon her shoulders. "Just look at you. You look quite perfect for our wedding."

"Stop that! Get this off me, now!" She shouted again, moving herself out of his hands roughly.

"Now, now. There's no need for that attitude, is there? Especially from a lovely bride." He said slyly with another smirk at her as he approached to her.

When she feels like he's getting way too close to her, Hoshimi is backing herself to a rocky wall until finally, she is stuck when she felt the stony surface behind her back. "Get away from me!"

"Now. . . I believe it's time for our. . ."

"STOP THAT!" Before he can do anything with her, she quickly pushed him away with all the force she had with her tail!

Then, Shadow landed on the sand. After a second or two, he slowly rose up and spoke. "Oh. . . . Hoshimi. . ." He turned around and looked at her with another amused smirk as he dusted himself. "You do know that I loath violence. One way or another, my dear. . . You will be mine!"

"Never!" She shouted again. She couldn't bear to hear another word of what he wants. After that, she felt herself pushed against the rock again. Then she winced when she felt her hands tightly grasped by Shadow's again. After wincing, she looked up to him and shivered a bit all of a sudden!

Shadow Link is now bearing his fangs while glaring at her furiously with his red eyes as if he were a demon in the flesh! He roared at her. "You don't have a choice! You belonged to me, now and I'm not letting you have any chances of falling for someone other than me! Now, you better not make me lose! So, take these lips of mine, Princess Hoshimi!" Now, he is slowly moving his face closer to hers! He's going to steal her first kiss!

_"No!"_ Hoshimi's mind squirmed as she helplessly turned her head away, hoping to evade him!

Before he can get any closer, Shadow began to sense something familiar with his dark senses. The next thing he noticed is that he's forced away from Hoshimi by a strong current of foam. Plus, the magic of the marriage garments he cast on her began to disappear, changing her back to her casual tank top and jewel encrusted tiara headband!

Once her attire has returned, Hoshimi is equally surprised. Then, she felt herself frozen by some unknown force and at that moment, she was pulled backwards. Then she felt herself being grasped around her waist.

Once he saw this, Shadow Link looked over and saw who's responsible for grasping Hoshimi like that. His lord and master, Ganondorf!

The wizard is now grasping Hoshimi tightly by the waist with his arm. He even smirked at Shadow, saying. "That's quite enough of that Shadow. Now, you just run along while I'll take care of everything else."

However, Shadow got up from the ocean floor and said. "But, my lord! I'm not done with her yet! Give her back!"

"Heh, I'm afraid that can't be done, my servant."

"But what about my marriage to her? Don't you remember our deal, my lord?" He pleaded.

But, the wizard sneered. "Hmph! At this moment of times, there is no deal between us! And why would I ever say anything about arranging silly marriages? I've been waiting for this moment to come and now, I have what I need to gain the power I want!"

Now, Shadow is not very happy about what his lord is saying to him. "So, all this time, it was a lie?"

Ganondorf smirked. "What else do you think it is?"

Well, now it's becoming very clear for him. Shadow couldn't believe that his master would be plotting against him! He guaranteed that if Hoshimi fails to win her love, he'll be married to her for sure. But it seemed that Ganondorf wouldn't really do that for him! With fury boiling up in him, his fangs and claws reappeared and he began to charge at Ganondorf, shouting. "How dare you! You fooled me!"

Before Shadow can even touch him, Ganondorf paralyzed him with his dark power first and threw over to the rock wall, single-handedly!

When seeing this shadow moaning in pain, Hoshimi gasped silently. Shadow is this warlock's servant, forcing her to marry him and in the end, he's trying to protect her? Or is he doing that, just to keep his terms?

While watching Shadow Link twitching and groaning, Ganondorf chuckled sinisterly! Then he told him. "With that maneuver and that tone of voice from you, it's quite clear that I don't think you deserved to be my servant any longer."

Shadow moaned again. "But. . . But my lord! I served you! I beg of you! Please give me another chance!"

But, he roared. "I'll do nothing of the sort, you worthless sea weevil! You're no longer needed! You can beg all you like. But you are punished!"

Those words sent a shock to Shadow! He scarcely believed his ears! His own master deserted him! He even took a few small backward glances too!

"Now, do get out of my sight, you miserable maggot of a shadow! I got bigger things to do than to waste my time with you!" He shouted at him again.

"My. . . My lord. . ." Shadow stuttered.

"Get out of here, now!" He yelled once more with furious eyes.

"I. . . I. . .Uh. ." He stuttered some more as he took two more glances. Then, finally, he started to swim off, crying. "As you wish, traitor!" He even has tears in his eyes while swimming away.

As soon as he was gone, Ganondorf began to chuckle again. While Hoshimi is in the midst of thoughts about Shadow, he cupped her chin and brought her face up to look at his. "Ah, now that problem is removed, it's time that we discuss things, little princess."

Hoshimi scowled softly for she didn't like the sound of that.

He continued to tell her. "To start things off, it wasn't technically you I'm after, dear. The only fish I'm really hunting for is. . ."

Before he can say another word, a familiar shout called out. "Stop your doings at once, Ganondorf!"

The wizard and his captive looked over and it is King Thor!

"Father!" Hoshimi gasped as soon as she saw him pointing his trident at Ganondorf. She even looked over to his side and there are his two loyal Mer-Sheikah confidantes! "Shrakah! Keir!"

They're both glaring at the wizard too.

However, it seemed that the King's sudden appearance doesn't seem too surprising for the Gerudo wizard. So, he began to laugh again. "Ha ha ha! Well now, if it isn't King Thor of Hylia! Ha ha! So glad for you to come all the way here!"

But, the King isn't happy with him. "Ganondorf, you treacherous demon of the sea! I command you to let go of my daughter this instant! If you don't, then I'll have to force you to!"

Well, this only made him laugh even more! "Ha ha ha ha! You really think I'll do it so easily? Well, there's no way I'm letting her go, Thor! She's in my possession now! It's all according to the deal she is having with me!"

"What did you say?" He roared at him.

Then, Hoshimi began to say to him as she tried to push herself away from the wizard. "I'm sorry father! I really didn't intend to do what he just said! I didn't know that it was all a trick until now!"

Well, thankfully, King Thor already knew that it is a trick all along so, he doesn't need to think twice to know what happened.

"There's no need to worry." Shrakah told the princess.

"Yes!" Keir added. "His majesty will fix everything!"

Then, King Thor began to raise his trident to prepare an attack on Ganondorf to free his daughter!

But, before he can do anything, the wizard said to him, holding Hoshimi. "Oh! I wouldn't try that, if I were you. If you do, you'll only hurt your daughter in the process, don't you think?"

Now, the Kind didn't want to admit it. But, he's right. If he ever tries anything on Ganondorf, then his daughter will be used as a shield!

"Now, you get it, your majesty?" He smirked. "The contract she made with me cannot be broken so easily. Even by your tremendous powers." Then he told the King as he walked over to him, letting Hoshimi loose of his grasp. "As you can tell, I'm always on the look out for a decent bargain with someone, here in the Kingdom of Hylia. Of course, the youngest daughter of the kingdom's King is a real precious example of one to be doing so. For she is also a real treasure that I would want so deeply from you!"

Then, he formed a bolt of violet light and cast it upon Hoshimi!

"Gyaaah!" As it touched her, the light formed electric rings of dark magic around her, forcing her unto the seabed and trapping her there. The magic didn't give her any chances of moving either! In other words, she is paralyzed!

Before King Thor can try anything to free her, Ganondorf stopped him again.

Next, he told him. "However, I can always make a trade for something even better."

In defeat, the King sighed. "All right. . . . I'll give you anything, Ganondorf. But, you got to swear that my daughter should be safe from any harm."

"Well, as if anyone's peril can be dire, you have to grant me the need to fulfill the desire I have in my heart!"

"Which is?" Thor asked.

Ganondorf's grin broadened as he made his answer. "The price I demand will not only be your soul. But also, the Pearl of Din. . ."

Later on, back at the wedding ship, a row boat was thrown to the water, and Shining Link jumped on to it. He even had his own sword and shield with him. Plus, there's even a harpoon in the boat. He can also use it. He's already prepared to rescue his true princess!

Navi came up to him with Snow and said to him. "We'll show you where Hoshimi is located! Just follow our lead, dear Prince!"

He nodded at them before picking up the two oars.

As the Prince began to row the boat out to where Shadow took her, most of the wedding guests and his family were at the railing of the ship, watching what he's going to do.

"Shining Link, my son!" King Phoebus called out. "What are you doing?"

"Father!" He called back. "This is something I should do alone! Hoshimi saved me first! Now, it's time for me to do the same! You just get everyone on deck back to Hyrule!"

But his mother asked too. "But, son! You already know that. . ."

Knowing what she's going to say to him, he gave out his determined answer. "Mother, I don't care anymore! Mer-Hylian or not, I love her!" He continues his rowing out to sea.

In the meantime, Link, Blue, Red, and Vio were already prepared too! They were all dressed up in their color coded combat tunics and around their necks, they each shared the four green fragments of Farore's Pearl. They even got themselves geared up with their own shields and their Four Swords. With some help from the Six Maidens, they were all ready to fight and save their sister.

Plus, Zelda is going to come along with them. She's wearing the Pearl of Naryu alongside with a ocean blue cloak with the golden Triforce on it. This cloak is draped over her shoulders and flowing down to the edge of her fins. She will aid her sister and brothers with her magic at the fight.

All five of the fully geared children are now swimming to where they all knew Ganondorf will be located. They're all going as fast as their fins will let them.

Along the way, Link then spotted a familiar figure lying on the seabed. "Hey, what's that?"

"Let's swim closer and find out." Red suggested.

So, they did. When they got as close as they can get, to their surprising discovery, it's Shadow Link who's lying on the ground! "Shadow Link?"

"You again?" Blue hollered.

Right now, Shadow isn't up to do more dark smooth talk as usual. He's now looking a bit weak and he's in the middle of prolong fatigue from Ganondorf's attack. He groaned as he looked up to the Royal Children who are looking down at him. "Oh. . . You guys. . . ."

But, Blue pointed his sword at him. "Save it! We know that you're trying to fool us. So, don't even thing about playing the Sympathy Act! Not to mention, playing dead!"

"But, listen to me!" He pleaded as he tried to get up from the sand. "There's something I got to tell you!"

"Bah! Like you would! I know you're up to something and I always knew it!" He's still not going to listen. Yup, Blue is always his overly judgmental self when it comes to meeting an enemy or two.

Then, Link stepped in. "Hold it, Blue! He looks like he does want to say something to us. So put down your sword and give him a chance."

"Back off, Green!" He said back to him. "If I were to give him an insignificant chance, then it would be another lie!"

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Lie? What reason do I have to do that? Huh?"

"Because, you're a shadow! A servant to that great, bloated Gerudo Wizard!" The Blue garbed prince answered him. Then he raised his sword. "Get ready to. . ."

Before anything can fall apart, Vio stopped him. "All right! Stop this nonsense right now, Blue! Now from the look of things, Shadow is really looking like he's barely alive. I do know he's Ganondorf's servant. But here's what I believe." Now, Vio is having a logical point. Everyone remained silent to listen. He told them all. "What I'm seeing right now, is this Shadow Link isn't the usual scheming and sadistic Shadow Link we normally see. When we found him lying on the seabed, he is looking a bit weary and injured. So something must have happened to make Ganondorf turn him down and result him to what he is now."

"That's exactly what he did earlier!" Shadow told them as well.

"Really?" Blue, Red, Zelda, and Link asked together in unison.

"Yes! An event occurred by Ganondorf and it's triggering right now! Please! You have to stop him and fast! As a matter of fact, Hoshimi is danger right now!"

"Hoshimi? In danger?" All of them asked in unison again!

"Yes! He's got her! He's now keeping her as bait to lure in your father, the King! I don't know what he's going to do. But it's going to be unforgivable!" He told them once more, desperately. He really is in the need of their help!

When they heard the news, Link and the rest of his remaining siblings gasped. "Wait! You mean, the potion wore off by the light of today's sunset and she lost her chance of winning the Prince's love?"

"You're correct, Link! Plus, I was tricked by my own master to bring her back to the sea! I tried to tell Ganondorf that she shouldn't be involved at this moment. But, he wouldn't listen! Just when I was about to kill him off, myself, he grabbed me and threw me to a rock wall! And after that, he deserted me!" The shadow finished.

"You shouldn't be punished like that for trying to defend our sister!" Said Red. "We can help you!"

"I agree! We should!" Said Link, too.

Zelda and Vio also agreed. But, Blue huffed again. "Why can we trust him? Even if he's bamboozled by his own master, he still can't be trusted!"

"Honestly?" Then, Red began growl at him. "You know what, Blue? That. . is. . it!" He even glared at him for the firs time! Even he can get angry! Also, the others were shocked to see him that way! He gripped Blue by the collar of his tunic and scold at him! "I'm totally fed up with your over-confident remarks and judgmental proclamations! Both Hoshimi and Shadow Link, here are in need of our help now, and there's one thing to do! Want to know what it is? We're going to help them! GET THE PICTURE?"

Now, Blue is too shocked to answer because of his brother's new temper. Normally, he would always see him as a timid person. But, this is the first time to see him being _this_ angry at him! So, he made a slow, nervous nod with his head.

Link then announced. "It's all settled, now! Shadow! Where is Ganondorf, right now?"

Shadow got up and gestured them to follow him. "Let me guide you to him!"

So, without waiting a second, everyone followed him!

At that very same time, Hoshimi is still held captive by Ganondorf. Not only are the electric rings surrounding her are keeping her paralyzed, they're also slowly depriving her of her energy! Now, she is looking more lifeless than alive! Her breathing even became irregular, too! Through her blurry eyes, she is now witnessing what her father will do in order to bring her life out of harm's way!

"Now. . ." Ganondorf began to say to the King. "In order to close the deal between us, I will need the pearl before I can claim your soul. You do have it with you, do you, Thor?"

Thor didn't say anything. But, he reached into the pocket of his royal tunic and pulled out a scarlet shell shaped locket. On the top lid of the locket, there's a golden mark of the Triforce.

Both, Hoshimi and Ganondorf can tell what it is! It's the locket that kept the Pearl of Din, itself!

The trapped princess' eyes widened as her father gave it to the smirking wizard! She couldn't believe what her father is doing!  
Ganondorf chuckled as he took the locket. Then he asked the King. "So, your majesty. . . . Do we have a bargain?"

"Don't do this, your majesty!" Shrakah pleaded!

But now, it seemed there's no other way for the King of Hylia to do besides this! He told to Ganondorf with a solemn voice as he bowed his head. "So be it. My soul and the Pearl of Din in return for my daughter's life. . ."

Shrakah, Keir, and Hoshimi gasped!

Then, the Sea Wizard declared with pride. "Ha! Finished! The deal is complete!" With a click of his fingers, the bolts of dark light left Hoshimi's body!

As soon as she recovered, she looked over at the devastating sight she's now seeing! The dark lights that paralyzed her flew over to her father and began their magic spell upon him! "Father! No!" She cried out!

While he's watching this too, Ganondorf began to laugh wildly! He had won! The King of the Great Ocean had surrendered to him and his plan worked out!

Up in the surface, Shining Link, Snow, and Navi caught a glimpse of the purple light and he stopped his boat next to it!

Shadow Link and the Royal Children are nearly reaching the area where their sister is with his ex-lord. He also saw the purple light too! "Hurry! We're almost there!" He said to them and they picked up the pace of their swimming.

Once they got there, they arrived at the situation too late! The purple light faded to reveal their father, frozen as a stone statue! The only things that Ganondorf's spell didn't effect are his crown and his trident!

Shadow, Link, Zelda, Red, Blue, and Vio gasped at what's in front of them!

"Oh!" Shadow knew that he could have got back in time to stop his ex-master!

"Your majesty. . ." Shrakah and Keir sorrowfully mumbled as they gazed at the lifeless statue.

"Father. . . . You. . . You were trying. . . To save my life. . ." Hoshimi felt her eyes twitching with disbelief while glancing at the statue too.

Seeing their sister gratefully unharmed, Link and his siblings swam over to her. Even Shadow is with them. "Hoshimi!" They even shared their behalf of her sorrow too. They should have foreseen that their father was to end up, being turned into stone like this!

"Oh, Father. . ." Those were the words, Link could ever utter as Zelda swam over to him.

Shadow Link placed his hands over his face and began to moan with regret. "We were too late!"

In the midst of this, Ganondorf walked over to the statue with a slightly villainous grin. "Yes. . . !" He spoke with a dark tone. "After all of these countless years. . . . !" He took the crown from the statue's head and placed it on his! "It's mine! Ha ha ha ha!" While laughing once more, he pulled out the trident from the hand of the statue! "The power to rule both: Hyrule and Hylia! Ha ha! It's finally mine! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Now, Hoshimi is beginning to understand the picture after hearing his laugh! Ganondorf has done all of this so that he can get her father's power! He even had the Pearl of Din along with it! This warlock haven't change one bit ever since he was banished! Her brothers and sister were right! This sea demon can never be trusted!

With anger boiling up in her, Hoshimi began to charge at Ganondorf with a ball of Din's Fire ready in her hand! "You. . . . ! You despicable sea demon!" She flung the fireball right at the Wizard! But he happened to dodge it after sensing its approach! But that doesn't matter to the furious princess! She continued her charge at him and she tried gripping her arms around his neck to strangle him!

The Quadruplet Princes, Zelda, and Shadow looked over to the situation and they couldn't believe what they're seeing! They are now witnessing Hoshimi's deep rage for the first time. They all know that she can be a bit temperamental. But, this isn't the first time they see her being angry.

"You beast! You have done it once more!" She shrieked while using the strength she had to teach this wizard a big lesson! "So, this is what you want all along! You tricked me! I never knew that I could be a fool beyond compare for believing your farfetched lies! I'll never forgive you for what you did to my dear father, Ganondorf!"

Before the enraged princess can strangle him some more, Ganondorf grabbed Hoshimi and roughly on to the sand! "Don't you dare fool with me, you little wretch!" He roared as she winced on the seabed. Then, he even noticed her brothers and her sister were coming in for him, all at once! But, before they can do anything, he repelled them with his strong magic!

Link and the others were thrown backwards on to the sea bed too!

Then, Ganondorf marched over to Hoshimi, who is about to recover from the throw he used on her. She even had small bits of tears forming in the brim of her eyes. "Ah, there's no use crying, now. Is there, Princess?" He mocked at her. Next, he used his magic again to force Hoshimi upward to him and after that, he grasped her neck, tightly, once he caught her!

"Oh!" The young Mer-Hylian princess grunted. She can barely breathe and she tried to pry his fingers off her. But, her maneuver is useless!

"Hoshimi!" All of her siblings called out when they heard her grunt of pain and the need to breathe!

Shadow quivered at the sight of this too! "Ganondorf! Let her go!" But, the warlock wouldn't listen!

Ganondorf began to yell at her as he held her throat, still! "Now that I'm the king, you have no obligation to go against me! Not even your magic can match up to overpower me, Hoshimi of Hylia! With the power to rule Hylia in my hands now, I will even use it to control the world above as well! I will definitely be the most powerful man in this world, and there's absolutely nothing you or your pathetic siblings can do about it! Not even the Three Goddesses can take this power away from me!"

Hoshimi then grunted again. "You'll. . . . You'll never rule Hylia. . . Or Hyrule! Even if you have. . . . Father's power. . . . You'll never succeed!"

Then, his hand tightened up around her neck! "Gyaaah!" She squirmed bitterly!

"Stop that! You're harming our sister!" Link screamed as he got up from the sand, with his arms wobbling a bit. Even the others were trying to get up.

"Heh! You think I can't, my dear?" He smirked as he loosens his hand a bit. The princess huffed a bit afterwards. He continued with what he's planning to say to her. "You say I won't be able to rule both worlds. But I believe you are wrong! You know, my feelings weren't hurt whenever you and your family often call me a Sea Demon or a Sea Devil. As a matter of fact, I have no heart! I'm now the head and master of the Great Ocean! Your father even paid the price to grant me the power I need to rule it! As you can see, with him turned into stone and completely out of the way, no one will be able to stop me! I now possess in my hands, his crown, his trident, Din's Pearl, and also. . . ." He reached into his pocket while holding the trident with his arm. From his pocket, he pulled out a familiar object! "This!" What he's holding is the Knife of Hylia's Tears!

Link, Vio, Zelda, Red, Blue, and Shadow gasped at what he had with him! So did Hoshimi! He must have got it when it was left behind in the cavern, that used to be Hoshimi's grotto!

"The knife!" She exclaimed!

Ganondorf smirked again. "Of course. Now that I have it with me, it will be used upon my command. Therefore, it cannot be used to go against my power as in the legend!"

Hoshimi continued to struggle against his hand. "We'll never let it be used by you!"

"Hmm, still defying me, eh? Well, this will teach you!" With that, he activated his power through the hand that's holding her. Dark violet shadows wrapped around her and they're even charged with purple lightning!

While feeling the powerful and evil electricity stinging her all over, Hoshimi is trying her best not to scream out in pain. "I'm. . . . I'm not going to cry out or go weak, down to the bone! You. . . You. . . despicable, yellow bellied sea bass!"

"Sea bass? That's it! I have enough insolence from you, little brat!" He even increased the power he's currently using, causing her to screech out a bit!

"Yaah!" Now it seems that Hoshimi is having more than she can handle!

"Stop hurting her!" Link shouted out.

"Let her go!" Cried Zelda.

"Hoshimi! Oh! Somebody, please help!" So did Red! He can't bear to see this, either!

Blue even called out. "You're really. . . In for a beating. . . You sea demon!"

"Younger Sister!" Vio shouted too!

Shadow began to beg once more! "Stop this, Ganondorf! If you continue restraining her with that much of your magic, she'll surely turn into sea foam!"

"If she becomes foam upon the waves, then so be it!" He roared again, still increasing his magic!

Before it looks like it's beginning to get more horrifying, a flying object was thrown into the water and was slashing through Ganondorf's arm! Cutting it, slightly. "Argh!" He yelled as he held his arm after letting Hoshimi drop on to the ocean floor again.

Hoshimi coughed a bit while holding her throat. Then she looked over and saw the object that struck the wizard's arm. It's a harpoon! She even looked up at where it came from! She gasped at what she saw. "Ah! Shining Link!"

It's her Prince! He came down from above to fight this power-hungry warlock! He must have thrown that harpoon earlier! Now, he is having his sword and shield ready to fight! The two fairies, Navi and Snow are also with him.

Link and his siblings gathered around Hoshimi along with Shadow. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I am." She answered.

Navi flew down with Snow to meet her. "We brought down the Prince for you so that he can help!" She told her.

Ganondorf began to growl at the Prince. "You fool! How dare you intervene with the start of my new era with what I have in my possession!" He picked up Hoshimi again! But, this time, by her wrist, gripping it tightly!

"Ugh!" She winced once more. "Shining Link!"

Link and the others are preparing themselves to try and strike Ganondorf! "Don't you dare touch her, you filthy pig!" But before they can reach him, that wizard made a barrier around them, single handedly! He trapped them inside as he held their sister!

Shadow shrieked as he tried pounding on the barrier's inner surface. "Ganondorf! Let us out!"

This made Shining Link practically furious! He gripped his sword tightly and pointed it at Ganondorf!

Hoshimi called out! "Shining Link! You don't need to worry about me! Just get away from here and save yourself!"

"Too late!" Ganondorf started to launch his magic at the Prince!

Shining Link quickly defended himself with his shield! But the force of the magic being thrown at him from the wizard send him flying through the water and get hit onto the bottom of his row boat! Air bubbles were floating out of his mouth as he groaned in pain! Then, he felt himself floating downwards in the water.

Ganondorf began to laugh menacingly after that doing.

"Oh no!" Snow panicked!

Now, Navi knew that the Prince won't be able to survive while being just underwater to battle this warlock! So, she flew over and created a large magical bubble with enough air inside. Then she pushed the bubble unto the Shining Link's face until it's completely inside!

He gasped for air once he felt it with his face.

"Breathe easy, now. You'll be replenished afterwards!" She said to him, while holding the bubble to him.

However, Ganondorf began to laugh again. "Ha ha! He won't be when I finish him off with this!" Then, he raised Thor's trident and began pointing at it towards the Prince!

Hoshimi cannot allow this demon to take the life of who she loved so dearly! So, pulled her hand out of his grasp, and when he's about to make his blow, she quickly grabbed his arm and aimed the powerful light beam away from the Prince's direction!

"Ah!" Ganondorf isn't too unaware of this. He saw that the light beam danced all over on the barrier he made over her siblings and his ex-servant! Then it was shot back and is heading over to him, striking him on to his chest! "Gaaaaaah!" He screamed as the light electrocuted him!

Next, the barrier broke, freeing Link, Red, Vio, Blue, Zelda, and Shadow! They all swam over to Hoshimi.

"Nice work, Hoshimi!" Link congratulated her!

"Yes!" She said. "But, we have to swim up and fast!"

So, as soon as Shining Link caught his breath from Navi's aid, they all helped him swim back to the surface with the her and Snow.

While kneeling on the sand, Ganondorf began to growl some more. But, his voice wasn't its usual self. It was deeper than normal! "Argh! Curse you, Hoshimi! You and your pathetic little family, friends, and your spineless Prince!"

He turned around just when Hoshimi and the others helped the Prince up to the surface and he began to growl some more with bitter hatred! He even gripped the trident tightly! While doing so, the golden light surrounding it turned into a dark purple one! Then, Ganondorf, with all the power he put into the trident began to slowly transform himself! His nails grew longer, his eyes turn from golden yellow to scarlet red, and his teeth are turning into sharp fangs! Also, he is beginning to grow taller and bigger at the same time!

Shrakah and Keir hid themselves inside a sea cave while they're witnessing this dreadful transformation!

Up in the surface, Shining Link was about to get back on to his rowboat just when Hoshimi and the others were coming up to him. He swam back to her to hold on to her.

"Shining Link!" She began to warn him. "You must go away from this part of the ocean! It's not safe and it's getting more perilous than ever, now! Me and my siblings can handle it from here. You must get to shore!"

"I'm not leaving you!" He cried.

Shadow Link was watching the two for a bit before sighing.

"But, you shouldn't put yourself in danger like in that storm from the other time!" She told him again.

"Look!" The Prince began to say as he held her. "I lost you once and I'm not going to lose you again!"

Now, Hoshimi's eyes widened from hearing his words. Then she sighed warmly and said to him, touching his cheek. "Well, then we should work together, you and I. Will you do that? For my father?"

In return of those gentle words, he took her hand, which touched his cheek and held it. "Of course."

Link, Vio, Zelda, Blue, and Red were all moved by this situation.

Then, all of a sudden, everyone felt a strong ripple coming up from below the water! It began to bubble up in front of them and the sea, itself began to shake! Then, with one large blast of water, out came a dark figure from below the waves! Menacing laughter echoes throughout the air as the figure rose higher and higher above them!

Hoshimi, Shining Link, Shadow, and everybody else gathered up together for safety as the gazed at the evil figure in front of them!

When the figure stopped its transformation it revealed itself to them! It's Ganondorf, but not in the way they normally see him! He has turned himself into a monster with a hideously misshapen body of a human but he had a head of a boar! He's even armored and he had wrist cuffs! Although he had those features, he still has King Thor's crown and trident! Also, floating up in a glowing orb next to him, is the Knife of Hylia's Tears! He's still intending to keep it out of their reach! Yes! He has turned himself into a demonic monster! A creature created by the devil!

Now, from there, a great battle of fate is going to engage!

* * *

M.S.K: Oooooh! Now a real battle is going to start on the next one!

Red: I just hope that Hoshimi and the Prince will be able to rescue her father!

Zelda: You and me both.

Navi: Ganondorf really makes me cranky.

M.S.K: Same for me.

Vio: I never knew that he would go as far as betraying Shadow

Shadow: Yes. . .

M.S.K: Well, everyone. I hope you're enjoying this so far. Do stay tuned for the next chapter! Jya ne!

Blue: Hmph! Yeah right! By that time, you'll be making some mixed food pancakes.

M.S.K: That's something that I'll be saving for some other time.


	16. The Battle for Hyrule & Hylia!

M.S.K: Whew! My oh my! I did a lot of writing these days. Plus I even did a little thinking time while I'm at it. Finally I'm able to get this battle chapter uploaded, thank heavens. Plus, I even added another character I created for this story. Hopefully you'll catch a lot of action in it too. This is also getting close to the end of the story soon. Ah! I would also like to mention that there are some lyrics to a song from another Anime. It's actually an english translation to one of its songs. So, I decided to add it to the story. Link?

Link: Certainly. Kaoru doesn't own Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. She only owns her own characters for the story. Everything about Legend of Zelda: Four Swords rightfully belongs to Nintendo.

M.S.K: Thanks. Also, I don't own the english lyrics of the song. All Rights are reserved. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Link: Say, what took you so long?

M.S.K: Ah! I was at the anime and game convention I told you guys about. It was fun! I was also at my friend's place to make mochi with her. Plus, I was a little fangirl crazy over another anime I watched recently.

Link: Let me guess. It's Hetalia.

M.S.K: (Shakes her head) Nope, nope, nope. It's something else. Gundam Wing.

Link: A mecha?

M.S.K: Hai!

* * *

Chapter 15: The Battle for Hyrule & Hylia!

This hideous, monstrous form of the wizard looked down at his ex-servant and the Royal Children below and his sinister laughter boomed throughout the dark sky! "Ha ha ha ha ha! You pathetic, simple fools! You think that you can easily evade and oppose me? Ganondorf? The new ruler of Hylia and Hyrule?" He began to raise his giant, clawed hand upon the spot they're all in, on the water!

"Everyone, look out!" Shadow cried out!

Before his hand came down on them, everyone quickly dove underwater to get away from it! They're all safe once they rose up from below the water. Then, they saw a great flash of lightning that no one in all of Hyrule has ever seen! It came from the trident as it was raised into the sky by Ganondorf!

"Ha ha ha ha!" He laughed loudly again, shouting out to the dark stormy skies! "Admit it, you little weaklings! I am the new king of all Hyrule and Hylia now! Everything does as I command!" Another bolt of lightening flashed in the dark, cloudy sky and thunder rumbled! In a matter of seconds, it even began to rain! With one swipe of his hand, he created a great tidal wave to go rolling towards them! "Every clap of thunder answers my voice and every wave obeys my every call! Go! Crush these sea weevils!"

Hoshimi saw the giant wave and she can see that it's coming close for the impact of its great splash! "Everybody! Let's all swim out of the way!" She quickly guided Zelda, Link, Vio and Shadow away from the wave's path! They are safe once they're out of the way. But she is missing three people! "Wait! Where are. . . Oh!" She looked behind her and she saw Red and Blue! They're right in the wave's path, still! So is Shining Link!

"Gyaaah! Save me, Blue!" Red shrieked while clinging on to his brother again!

Blue began to try pushing him off, hardly noticing the approaching wave. "Red! For Din's sake, stop clinging on to me!"

Shining Link is staying close to them cautiously.

Then, Hoshimi came over to them, swimming as fast as she could! "Red! Blue!" She shouted out to them! She quickly moved the two out of the way of the wave and as she did, she can see that it's getting closer and closer to them! After that, she turned over to Shining Link and cried. "Get out while you can!"

"But, I can't leave you here at this rate!" He called back to her.

"It's your life that I'm more worried about besides my own, Shining Link!" She said back to him with a look of seriousness in her eyes.

All of a sudden, before they knew it, both: The Prince of Hyrule and the Princess of Hylia are swept up by the giant tidal wave and are plunged underwater roughly! "Yaaaah!"

"Hoshimi! Shining Link!" Cried Link, Zelda, Blue, Red, Vio, and Shadow in unison after seeing what happened!

Ganondorf laughed once more! "Ha ha ha ha! You pathetic little sardines might as well give up right now! No one and nothing can stop me!" He held the orb that had the Knife of Hylia's Tears and Din's Pearl. "With this tremendous power in my hands, all of the forces of the Great Ocean will follow my command! The Sea of Hylia! The Land of Hyrule! It will all be mine!" He raised the trident again and a great dark light flashed! The waves of the sea began to grow wilder than before! At that moment, many vortexes on the water appeared and swirled around and around, creating rising whirlpools up into the air! Ganondorf is now having the entire sea under his control of dark power!

From their windows, everyone in Castle Town are witnessing the storm raging in front of them. They even want to know what was going on out there.

From their window, King Phoebus and Queen Raina are standing there, watching the dark view of the storm, hoping if their son is doing okay. Liliana held Erune tightly as they watched the scene too with Sheik.

Also, Julius had just finished bringing his cuckoos and their chicks inside his home for shelter. As soon as he is done, he looked out at his window and he can see that the storm is getting stronger out at sea. "Hah. . . Somethin' is telling me that a storm like that one isn't going to be a good one. I don't like the look of it. Even me cuckoos are frightened of it."

Below the sea, back in the Royal Palace, all of the Six Maidens can see that the waves above the surface are exciting and it is a sign that there's a storm in the air.

"This storm is definitely not one of the ordinary." Said the Blue Maiden.

"I can also sense that it's charged of dark energy." The Yellow Maiden also told her.

Then, the White Maiden spoke. "Princess Hoshimi must be all right."

"I just hope that King Thor, the Princes and Princess Zelda will be able to find her safely. After she has been up in Hyrule with her Prince for almost three days." Said the Red Maiden.

"Same for us." Said the other maidens in unison.

Then, Blue Maiden announced. "They should not handle this alone. We have to call upon another disciple to aid them." She turned to them and have the rest of the maidens form a circle. Once they're in position, she weaved her hands together and asked them. "Ready?"

They all nodded. Then, they closed their eyes and began their prayers to the heavens. They even activated their powers while they're at it.

Yes, a storm like this one isn't a really good one. While this is still going on, Link quickly guided everyone to safety as they swam towards a rock to brace themselves of this incredibly violent storm! Once they're all hanging on to the rock, they are now beginning to wonder if their sister is all right.

"I hope Hoshimi isn't harmed by that wave!" Red quivered. "If only Navi were here, she'll know what to do!"

"But, she's terrified of dark magic, mostly." Said Blue.

"We got to do something!" Said Zelda. "We can't let Ganondorf take complete control of the two kingdoms with our father's trident, the Knife of Hylia's Tears, or the Pearl of Din! If he does, then chaos will reign and eternal peace will be lost forever!"

Vio looked up and spoke too. "We got to get the pearl and the knife out of his possession."

"How?" Asked Shadow. "He's too powerful, right now. Your Four Swords and your magic alone won't be too affective on him."

Blue then noticed two familiar figures appearing up on the surface of the water. "Ah! Look, guys! It's them! They're okay!"

Everyone looked over and they saw Hoshimi swimming to them with Shining Link!

The two were swimming with all of their might, although they're a little weak from what the big wave had done to them. They're just about get closer to the rock until a giant hand is above them! Ganondorf is about to attack again!

"Still resisting? I think not!" The power-hungry and deformed wizard threw his hand down upon the water, forcing the Prince and the Princess to go under again!

Shining Link quickly swam back up to the surface and he made it to the rock where Shadow and Hoshimi's siblings were. He panted as he laid down on it.

Everyone scooted over to him. "Are you all right, there?" Asked Link.

"Yes. . ." He huffed. "But, where's. . . Hoshimi?"

Then, everyone heard a scream! "AAAAAH!" They all looked up and they saw that Hoshimi was grasped by Ganondorf's giant hand! "Ah! Hoshimi!"

The Princess was carried up to meet Ganondorf's big, glowing eyes. "You. . . . Insolent beast!" She tried to push herself out of his grasp with all the strength of her arms. But her efforts were useless! "Unhand me this instant!"

But, the pig-headed warlock growled. "You don't have any power over me, you little whelp! Therefore, you won't last long, yourself! I have your father's power of rule right now, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it!"

"That's what you think!" She shouted back to him. Then she raised her hands up and cried. "Din's Fire!" Two fireballs appeared in her hands and she slammed them on the flesh of his fingers, hoping if it would release her! However, it didn't manage to harm him! But she continued to throw more fireballs on to his giant fingers, still trying to get out!

Now, from seeing how strong his younger sister's magic have gotten in the past few days, Link decided that he and his siblings can't just sit on the rock and watch her struggle! "Come on, everybody! We got to help her!" He jumped off from the rock and everyone followed him towards the giant monster to help!

Once they got close to Ganondorf's armored torso, Link announced, readying his sword. "Red! Blue! Vio! Are you all ready for this?"

"Ready!" They answered in unison.

"Ready, Zelda?" He asked his first sister.

"Of course!" She answered too.

"I'll join too!" Said Shadow Link, pulling out a sword of his own.

"So will I!" Shining Link agreed also, pulling out a really special sword! It's a magnificent blade with a lovely blue winged hilt and above it, on the blade, is the golden mark of the Triforce!

Everyone was surprised when the sword was shown in front of them! "Wow!" It's something that practically everyone knows! Especially Vio.

He stared at the blade and asked. "Isn't that the legendary Master Sword? A mystical blade that's used by the many heroes of Hyrule?"

The Prince smiled at him. "It sure is. But there's no time to waste!"

Link nodded. "You're right! We're ready, right? Now, all together! Charge!"

So, everyone charged towards the armored monster and Link took the opportunity for the first strike! "For Father! Yaah!" Then, everyone else joined in while Zelda commanded her flame of Din's Fire! They made their strike but, it didn't even harm him at all!

"Rats!" Blue cursed! "We had him with our swords, but he did not flinch!"

But, it doesn't matter to Link, though. "Okay, everyone! Let's try another way!" He got out his boomerang and threw it towards the wizard.

Blue tried to bash him with his mallet, and Red gave him a hand with his fire rod! Now, the flames didn't seem to do any good, so he tried the ice rod instead. But, the results are still the same! The ice had no affect! "No. . . . !" Red groaned. "I thought they'll work. They always do some good on the past enemies we faced."

"And my hammer didn't do any damage at all!" Blue groaned also.

Well, Link thought his boomerang can do something. But, it didn't work on Ganondorf once it came back. "Grr! All right! Let's try this again!" He threw it with enough force his hand can muster! But, when it touched Ganondorf's armor, it broke! "Gah!" Link is now surprised at this! His boomerang will always do the trick to his father's enemies. But against this warlock, it's useless!

Finally, Shining Link jumped in. "Let me try!" He leapt up from the water and flew up to the giant wizard!

"I'll do this along with you!" Said Shadow. He's going for the same aim as the Prince. Surely, Shining Link isn't expecting that but, it should do.

Hoshimi from Ganondorf's left hand made a brief and affectionate smile for not only her prince is coming up to rescue her. But also along with the Shadowy Link who had tried his best to keep her away from the wizard in the first place.

Ganondorf roared again when he saw the two. "You disrespectful little insects!" He fired a bolt of lightning at them and sent them back into the water before they have a chance of attacking him!

"Gaaaah!" Shining Link and Shadow screamed when they are hit by the bolt and they landed into the sea afterwards.

Then, the wizard laughed once more. "That will teach you!"

After seeing that, Hoshimi began to struggle out of his hand once again.

Link swam over to the the Prince and Shadow to see if they're all right. Thankfully, they're okay. He then turned to Zelda. "Any luck?"

She shook her head unfortunately. "Oh, no! No matter what I do, he has shown no signs of weakness!"

Link let out a sigh. "Haaah! My boomerang was destroyed and yet, our Four Swords won't be able to go against him, either! That warlock is rarely putting up a fight with us."

"Just how are we going to get Hoshimi out of the hands of that devil and more importantly, how are we going to beat him?" Blue asked. Then, he showed his brother, his worn out mallet. "I thought for sure, my mallet will get him!"

Red then let out a moan as he came up to his first brother with Vio, who has run out of his arrows. "He's got everything our Father had since he's now holding his trident."

Everyone is about to ponder until Hoshimi called down from above. "You're quite right on that, Red. It's only a matter of moments, depending on how many times you guys hit him with everything you have. So, the good thing is, what you're all doing is wearing him down until the right time."

Now, everyone is getting what she's saying. Vio answered her. "You know, you're totally right! It can be the fact that everything we did so far is taking him down slowly, bit by bit."

Blue then asked her. "Are you sure you're all right up there, Hoshimi?"

"Aww, of course I am!" She answered. "I'm just waiting to get my Din's Fire up to power, so that I can get myself out. But, if you guys get me out of here before I can, then that's okay."

Vio shrugged while smirking a little. "Well, your Din's Fire has gotten stronger over the past few days. I believe we must have had our eyes shut while you're building up your strength." Well, everyone agreed with him on that.

But, Ganondorf called out. "Ah, but Children of the Sea! Have you all forgotten something about me?"

Everyone looked up at him to listen to what this pig has to say. Including Hoshimi.

The wizard gripped his trident firmly as he gave out. "With this trident, I even have the great capability. . . ." Then, the trident began to glow a dark violet color under his control! It's even gathering enough energy for the next blow! "To smite every one of you in one swoop!" After the trident's energy reached it's full capacity, he raised the trident and he swung another bolt of dark light towards Link, Shadow, Shining Link, and the rest of the Royal Children!

While seeing this, everyone gasped, one by one!

"No. . . !" Link gasped first.

"It's impossible!" Gasped Zelda, next.

Shining Link only flinched while seeing that bolt.

"No way. . !" Then, Shadow.

Next, Red. "Our father. . ."

Then, Blue. "Can't. . ."

Lastly, Vio. "Do. . . ."

Then, once they're met with the shocking affects from the dark bolt, they all screamed out the last word in unison! "That!" After getting hit by the bolt, they were tossed into the stormy sky and they all fell back into the water again!

"Everyone!" Hoshimi cried out. She began her struggling again. She's now angry with what Ganondorf have done to her friends and family! He tricked her by bargaining with her wish, he turned her father into stone, and now, he has harmed her siblings, his ex-servant, and her Prince! "You despicable sea demon! You'll pay for everything you've done against us once I get out of here! I'm sure that the Three Goddesses of Hyrule will drain all of the living daylights out of you! Gerudo Wizard or not, I will definitely punish you for all the dishonor you've brought upon all of Hylia and Hyrule!"

Then she raised her arms again, one more time! "Naryu's. . . ." But, before she can do anything, her command for her magic has stopped for that she felt Ganondorf's giant hand tightening up around her waist! The grip is so tight, she began to squeal out in pain! "Yaaah!"

The monster roared at her while gripping the poor Mer-Hylian Princess! "Don't you dare defy the new King, you useless weakling!" He then loosened his hand a bit around her for he has another thing to say.

While Hoshimi is taking a few breaths to get some air in her, he said to her. "You listen closely to me, now! As the most powerful wizard of this world, I practically loath those imbecilic beings you all call the Three Golden Goddesses of Hyrule! It was them who prevent me from being the king of Hylia, ever since your bloated father banished me to live in the Abyss of the Great Sea! So far, taking his Trident is the first thing I need to be the most powerful being in this world! Far more powerful than those Goddesses!" He is now showing her the glowing orb that contained the pearl and the knife. "I now have Hylia's Knife and the Pearl of Din in my hands as the second step! And now, since you're here in the clutches of my hand, there is one more thing I need!"

"Oh! What is it?" She asked him angrily.

The giant boar laughed. "Hah! I thought for sure you have figured it out since it's such a sacred secret in your family."

Even Link, Shadow, the Prince, and his siblings looked up from the water to hear what this wizard is going to say. It's also something they all know, apparently.

Ganondorf began to tell Hoshimi. "Princess Hoshimi, take a good look at the back of your right hand." As she looked at it, he told her more. "There's a reason why there's only one half of the Triforce of Power being shown there. There is something that you're not quite aware about."

She stared at the mark on her hand for a bit before asking him. "Is there a meaning for it?"

The deformed wizard grinned and answered her! "I already know the secret you and your family have been keeping for all these years, Hoshimi! Unlike your siblings who are under the Triforce of Courage and Wisdom, you are under the first Triforce triangle! However, you have only half of it! Another half is held by another disciple in this world!" While holding the trident still, he showed her the back of his left hand! What he's revealing to her is the real truth!

Hoshimi and everyone else gasped at what he revealed to them! "Oh!" She began with eyes wide opened! "That's. . . . That's the second half of the Triforce of Power!" She took one more look at hers. Finally, she gets the picture. "So. . . That means. . . !"

"Of course!" Ganondorf replied. "You have the first half while I have the second! You and I are pretty much the same! We're both under the Triforce of Power!"

Now, Hoshimi is too shocked to decide whether or not, she should say something. She could scarcely believe her own ears! "Why. . ." She began. "Why would you have the same Triforce trademark as I do? The Power element of the Triforce should not belong to you! Even if you have half of it, you still won't rule Hyrule or Hylia!"

"Oh! You're still defying me, eh?" He roared. "Well, then in order to fulfill my need to rule both of the kingdoms, I will have to drain you of your half, then!" From the hand that's holding Hoshimi, a dark black aura surrounded her!

Sensing the uprising shadows around her, Hoshimi tried to do more wriggling, though it's still useless! "What's happening? What are you doing, Ganondorf?"

Link and everybody else from below gasped at what the wizard is going to do with her!

Ganondorf began to roar out again! "Ha ha! By the time I'm done with you, Hoshimi, you're the one who's going to be powerless while I, Ganondorf, will be the most powerful wizard in all of Hyrule and Hylia! Ha ha ha ha!" With that said, he gripped her tightly and the black aura, enveloping the princess, began its work by strengthening itself and slowly draining all of her force energy from within, so that it can be added to the wizard!

"Gyaaaaaaaah!" Hoshimi screamed bitterly for as the energy is being pulled out of her, pain is surging through her body, slowly making her become weak!

This made the wizard laugh louder than before! "Ha ha ha! Yes! Yes! Scream louder! Let your voice ring out to the Goddesses of Hyrule for there's a new being of power awaiting them, now! No one will be able to bring me down!"

Seeing Hoshimi getting hurt even began to make Shining Link's blood boil with anger and torment in him! He cried out! "Stop it! You monster! You're hurting Hoshimi! Let her go!"

"Hoshimi!" Zelda, Red, Vio, Blue, and Shadow Link, cried out as they helplessly watch what the wizard is doing to her!

"Sister!" Link shouted while small drops of tears are appearing from his eyes!

Ganondorf looked down at his prey once again. "Admit defeat now, little Mer-Hylian Princess! Without the Pearl of Din, you're absolutely nothing!"

Hoshimi grunted through the dark magic. "The. . . Pearl of. . . Din. . . ?" Then, among the black aura, a thought struck her! She should say something to this warlock too! Then, she grunted out to him. "Well. . . Ganondorf. . . You're right! You are. . . a powerful wizard. . . But, here's the news flash for you. . . ! The Three Goddesses: Din. . . Naryu . . . and Farore; they all have true power than you, still!"

"What?" He asked her.

"Well. . . . It is true! Ever since you're put into this world. . . Din gave you half of the Triforce of Power while the other half is given to me. . . And better yet, she can still. . . . take yours away. . . just as easy! So face it. . . . Ganondorf! Even if you have. . . Father's trident, Din's Pearl, and the Knife of Hylia's Tears. . . . You're still. . . The second being of power!" She answered him again.

Well, Ganondorf is about to say something until he had a thought in his mind too. "Wait! You're quite right! Din, herself does have power that can exceed mine! But. . . !" He began to strengthen his dark aura upon the Princess! "Once I get all of yours, I'll still be more powerful than her!"

"Gah!" More pain stabbed Hoshimi again! But, she smirked at him. "You still won't believe me? Well, you won't have my power, anyway!"

"You stay silent!" Ganondorf placed the Trident at the front of his shoulder first then he took the magical knife from the orb and held it above her! "More of that nonsense and I'll finish you! I'm sure that I'll be complete of your energy once I use this upon your valued life!"

"No! Stop!" Everyone below shouted!

Hoshimi winced as she braced herself for what's going to happen!

Just when Ganondorf is about to use the knife to assassinate the Princess of Hylia, a great white light blinded him as it broke through the dark storm clouds! After blinding the monstrous warlock, it removed the knife and Din's Pearl out of his hands! "Haaaaaaah!" That light even had a voice that sounded like that of a young man! After retrieving the knife and the pearl, the light flew over to Hoshimi, gratefully engulfed her and removed her out of Ganondorf's grasp! Plus, her Triforce power energy has returned to her as soon as she is freed! The two objects eventually placed themselves on to Hoshimi's hands.

"What is this?" Ganondorf roared at the light. "Who are you? How dare you interrupt this awakening moment of my reign?"

Once his yell was heard, the light began to take form of a tall young man with golden eyes, sunshine colored hair, and all dressed in white clothes that seemed to be the same as Shining Link's! As he held Hoshimi in his arms, he is adorned with shining platinum armor! His face is even decorated with silver markings! He looked as if he were to resemble a strong warrior hailed from another tribe. He stared sternly at Ganondorf and announced his name. "I am Hikaru, Hyrule's Spirit of the Stars. Protector and Guardian of the Sacred Realm, and a soldier to the Three Golden Goddesses of Hyrule!"

Shining Link looked up and saw the real Spirit of the Stars in the sky with Hoshimi. "Ah, it's him!" He said slightly. Link, Zelda, Shadow, Vio, Blue, and Red looked up too.

Ganondorf is equally surprised at his sudden appearance too. "It. . . It can't be!"

Hikaru, the spirit placed Hoshimi down in the glowing orb of light he made for him and her, then he showed his sword at the monster. "I have come from the heavens to defend the Children of Hylia and the Prince of Hyrule, under orders from the Goddess of Power, Din, herself! You, Ganondorf have committed a great crime towards her, Naryu and Farore! This unforgivable act of greed cannot be endured by them or all of the mortals who live in the two kingdoms of this world! Therefore, a punishment should be made for you and your corruptible doings!"

Shocked with disbelief from this warrior's words, the wizard yelled out! "No! That's impossible! The goddesses are not supposed to interfere when a new ruler makes his arrival upon this world!"

"The entire world from the earth and the sea is crying out for your defeat, Ganondorf!" Hikaru declared. "You are to be executed! The Goddesses have spoken! So, your reign of torment upon the two Kingdoms ends here!"

"You can't do this to me! I'm the new king!" He shout again!

"You're king of nothing!" Then, Hikaru raised his sword and it began to build up light energy! When the time is just right, he pointed the sword at the monster and it fired its ray of light at him! Once the light ray hit Ganondorf, it created giant glowing chains to bind him! Now, the wizard is more shocked for he can't move an inch now!

After that's done, Hikaru controlled his orb of light to bring him and Hoshimi down to the water. Next, he enveloped her siblings along with the Prince and Shadow Link inside. Then, he turned to Hoshimi. "I am giving you the will to punish him, now. For he have brought dishonor to you and your family."

"Me?" She asked him. "How will I do that?"

Hikaru smiled at her. "You have my blessing since your birth, Princess Hoshimi. You are the true bearer of Din's Power. Only you will have her trust to use it willfully with extreme care. She knows you will never use your power to bring harm. But only to bring happiness to others. Also, you are the one who is destined to own and use Hylia's Knife. Take it and use it against him! When he tried to take your life, he doesn't deserve to use it from the moment I got here."

"So, if this knife is ever used for other uses, such as killing, then its powers will be diminished?" She asked him again.

"Exactly." He answered her as he take her hands and have them wrapping themselves around the handle of the knife. "This knife is for magic uses, only. So, Hoshimi of Hylia. Take this knife and use it with your pearl, and the pearls of your brothers and sister. Then, you will save your father and bring peace to your homeland and your prince's."

Hoshimi looked at the wizard who's fruitlessly struggling against the strong chains that Hikaru placed upon him. Then she gazed at the knife and her pearl. Lastly, she thought about her father, who gave up his crown and trident for her. Then, she felt a two hands on her shoulders. She looked behind her and it was her brother, Link and her prince, Shining Link. She saw that they're both smiling at her.

"We know you can do this, younger sister." Her first brother told her.

"Do it to save your father!" Said the Prince. "And you're not alone. We are here to back you up."

Hoshimi didn't know what to say. She saw Shadow with a hopeful look on his face. She can see that he wanted her to finish his old master off. She is also seeing Red, Blue, Vio, and Zelda smiling at her too.

She couldn't believe it. Everyone is going to count on her to bring that dishonorable wizard to his downfall. She made a determined smile at them and declared. "Right! I'll do it! For Hylia and Hyrule!"

Hoshimi turned to Ganondorf and called out with the might of her voice! "Ganondorf! Your days of darkness are numbered! It's time for you to meet the light!" With that, she might know what to do.

She pulled out her ocarina and played one note first. After putting her instrument away, she showed the knife in front of her, held the pearl in her other hand and began to sing as soon as music began to play from the heavens. _"~The last page of a fairy tale is rewritten, and changed into a tragedy. I even lose sight of the one person I believed in. Love and dreams are almost like a sand castle. They're fragile and they crumble down, even if you don't wish for it.~"_

Once Hoshimi began to sing, the knife began to gather energy slowly. _"~But even now, I still can't forget the melody you always sang. As it echoes in my heart, I feel as if things will go back to they way they were back then, someday. Still, I'm sure, it can return. I shake off the chains that were placed upon me, and the two worlds are connected together in the blue ocean!" _Even a golden aura is surrounding the young princess!

"Hah!" Ganondorf roared again. "You are beginning to do your magic, but I'll kill you before that!" But, when he tried to unbound himself from the chains, it's useless! The magic Hikaru placed on him is stronger than what he expected! It's even stronger than his!

Hikaru called out. "It's useless to move! As I've told you, you are now to be punished!"

Hoshimi continued to sing as her knife builds up more of its power! At the very same time, Din's Pearl began to glow from in her hand. Even the melody of the song began to ring throughout the sky. _"~Definitely! Only love can overcome anything! It can even change the constellations that decide fate! It should just vanish, that cowardly lie, and the present too...!~"_

Seeing how the knife in the Princess' hands is gathering strength, Ganondorf is more shocked than ever! "No! This isn't what it's like in the legend! There's no way that a song can also be sung when the knife is in the bearer's hands when this world is bordering peril! This can't be happening!"

Hoshimi, with anger filled eyes, looked up at him and spoke. "Yes, it is! This is what it was in the legend!"

"But. . . Your father didn't tell you that!" He shouted back.

"Of course he didn't." She said, grinning. "That's because, I already figured it out!" Then, she continued to sing. Even her siblings, Shadow, and Shining Link joined in to sing along with her while wrapping their hands upon hers as she held the knife firmly. They're doing this because the Pearls of Naryu and Farore are glowing too. _"~Wrapped in the kindness and love of the Mother Sea, who sparkles like a jewel, where I was born. There is a dream that seven lives gaze upon. That is why I came here. I can't lie to myself anymore. Because I have a person to protect and a world to protect!~"_

Once the knife's power reached its full impact of power from the pearls, everyone let Hoshimi do the job with the last few words of the song! _"~Surely! To doubt someone with no proof is a weakness. I want to believe in a love without a form, until the day I finally feel love in my hands...!~"_With that, Hoshimi let out a great, bright light beam from the magic knife with all of her might and shot it towards Ganondorf's heart!

The wizard frantically tried to struggle out of the chains one more time! But, it's too late! His atonement for all the wrongs he committed is now coming towards him! When the magic beam of light reached him, it skewered through his heart with enough power to give him great pain! "Graaaaaaaaah!" The monster cried out in agony when the light pierced him! He even lost his grasp on Thor's Trident as well!

Hoshimi looked at the glowing knife and another surprise is happening to her. It poured power on to her right hand as she held it with it. The top triangle glowed into a complete triangle instead of a half! All of the power from the Triforce of Power now belongs to her! This must have happened after she pierced Ganondorf with the knife's magic! Then, she declared to him. "Ganondorf, you are now finished! You're finally getting what's coming to you!"

The giant monster groaned. "This. . . This is impossible. . . This shouldn't be happening to me. . . . ! I was so close. . . To my goal. . . !"

Then, she spoke to him once more. "As Princess of Hylia, I hereby declare your punishment! The penalty for treason against my father is death!" She even showed him her complete Triforce mark in her hand!

"What?" He gasped. "You can't. . . . Your Triforce of Power is in complete form! You took my power when you used the knife?"

Hoshimi smirked. "You got that right, Sea Demon!" Then, she is preparing herself to deliver the final blow! Her magic began to build up and while she's at it, her sister, Zelda is doing the same thing! Her brothers drew their Four Swords and Shadow gave Hoshimi a little bit of light magic of his own!

Shining Link told the princess. "I'll do this with you and your family too!" He pulled out his Master Sword again as it shone brightly!

Hoshimi nodded warmly at him. "I'll be grateful." Then she had everyone grouping together. "Now, on my signal!" Once her orb of light is just the right size, she let Zelda give her share of power to hers. Next, she had her brothers mix in their swords' powers to the orb. Afterwards, with the little help Shadow can do to offer her, the power orb is ready!

Finally, by her signal, everyone let out a great shout of the spell's name! "SACRED TRIFORCE EXECUTION!" With all of their strength, they shot the orb of raw power towards the nearly finished wizard!

It definitely made a powerful impact on to his body and it engulfed him with a strong volt as it electrocuted him! "Gaaaaaaaah!" He cried out as the pain shot through him!

Hoshimi turned to the Prince and nodded, giving him the signal to finish him off! "Now!"

"Right!" So, with that he quickly swam over to the monster and made a great leap from the water! Then, with all of the might of the legendary Master Sword, he sliced the monster's torso completely in half!

After the Shining Link retreated back into the water, the wizard, Ganondorf is finally defeated! "NOOOOOO!" That was the last word he ever yelled out as he dispersed into a great cloud of force crystals, raining unto the sea. Among the force crystals are the crown and the trident, returning to normal as they sank down to the bottom of the sea, with a golden light shining brightly.

With the wicked wizard finally gone, Hoshimi, Hikaru, Link, Zelda, Blue, Red, Vio, and Shadow returned underwater to wait for the storm to die down.

Shining Link, however is already weary from battling and swimming as he swam ashore. It wasn't too long before he fainted upon the soft sand.

As the morning sun begins to rise, the storm subsided and the Great Sea is calm again. The storm clouds parted and the rain stopped falling.

From the Kingdom of Hyrule, everyone from inside the castle and down in Castle Town came out of their homes for that the coast is clear. Everyone is relieved that the storm has ceased.

From Hylia, everyone did the exact same thing when the waters are calm and tranquil again. Even the Six Maidens knew that the storm is gone after they relaxed their powers.

As for the trident and the crown, they safely sunk down to the spot where Thor is still a stone statue. The crown landed upon his head and the trident struck the spot of sand next to him. When the crown is at the right place again, the statue glowed and Thor is back to himself again! He looked around and about curiously of what happened. Then, he noticed the crown on his head! He just returned to normal thanks to it! After that, he looked down and saw his trident lying next to him. He picked it up and smiled. He is sure someone noble enough is able to bring him back to life.

"Your majesty!" Said Shrakah and Keir, swimming to him. From their spot, they've been watching the whole thing from underwater.

"Shrakah! Keir!" The King said gratefully. "What. . . What just happened?"

"Oh! He saved you! The Prince from Hyrule saved your life. . . And your trident and crown too!" Said the elder Mer-Sheikah.

Then, Keir added. "Not only, that. It's also Hoshimi who saved you."

Now, King Thor blinked at what they told him. "Hoshimi? The Prince of Hyrule? Saved a man like me?" Then, he noticed the Pearl of Din floating down on to his hand. He looked at it and began to realize what she had done for him this whole time. He even realized that there's still something he should be doing for her too.

* * *

Navi: Woah! That's quite a battle!

Blue: I was sooooo moved!

M.S.K: Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Red: Yay! Hoshimi did it!

Vio: I'm quite proud of her.

Zelda: Me too.

Shadow: And me.

Link: Plus, that was intense. You put a lot into it, didn't you.

M.S.K: (blushes) Yes, I have. Well, I hope you liked it too, out there! The next chapter is going to be the official conclusion to the story. I'll be seeing you there! So, review and comment, please! ^_^V


	17. Let the Two Kingdoms Unite!

M.S.K: Phew! It's finally done! We are now on the concluding chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it too. I'm sorry I kept you waiting. College work was keeping me busy. But at my leisure time, I get to write again. Well, enough said. Zelda?

Zelda: With pleasure! Kaoru doesn't own Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. She only owns her characters for this story. Everything relating to Legend of Zelda: Four Swords rightfully belongs to Nintendo.

M.S.K: Arigatou gozaimasu! Now, on with this chapter! And enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 16: Let the Two Kingdoms Unite!

The morning light has finally arrived after Ganondorf's fearful storm had died down upon his great fall.

At that very same time, Hoshimi, her siblings, Hikaru, and Shadow Link reappeared to the surface as the water glittered under the golden light of the sunrise. They were near the shoreline, next to a rock as they looked over at the beach, where they found Shining Link, who had already fainted from the battle he fought alongside with them. They were quite sure he'll be okay by the arrival of dawn. But now, it seems he's not awake yet. Also, all of that fighting and swimming made him feel very weak, down to the bone.

Worried about his current condition, Hoshimi swam over to the beach. Once she's at the water's edge, she scooted up to her tired prince. When she finally reached him, she stared at his face at first. His eyes were closed and she couldn't even tell if he's unconscious or exhausted. She caressed his cheek and from the touch, she can tell that he's still alive, thankfully.

As she traced her fingers through his light platinum blonde hair, a sad thought struck her mind. She even let out a slight sigh. She already had her chance to show him her love, while living in Hyrule for three days. Although it's all a trick by an evil wizard. She had also won his affection, so that he will deserve hers in return. Most of her high hopes were fulfilled. But, now that she has changed back to her true form, as a Mer-Hylian, what is she going to hope for now? She didn't want to leave his side. She couldn't bear to part with him forever and ever. The only thing she ever wanted is to be near him and around him, always.

Watching their sister embracing her battle weary prince, Link and the rest didn't know what to do, either. Just then, Snow and Navi flew by. The Blue Fairy said to Link. "I hate to see her that way."

"So do I, Navi." The first Mer-Hylian Prince replied.

"I do too." Agreed Zelda.

"And here." So, did Blue.

"Me too." And Red.

"Yes, we all do." Vio added, lastly.

Shadow, however is watching how deep Hoshimi is feeling towards Shining Link right now. It seems like it's all becoming clear to him. Maybe he should just admit the fact that this princess isn't really charmed by him. But, by someone else. Perhaps it is best to let everything be. He then hung his head low and sighed.

Hikaru, himself is watching too. He even knows that she has deep feelings for her prince.

Link began to say. "If only there's something we can do to help her."

Before they all began to think, a familiar voice spoke to them. "I am wondering the exact same thing, my children."

They all looked behind them and they couldn't believe their eyes! "Father!" They all exclaimed for they saw their father, the King alive and well from being a stone statue for a while! They all hurried over to him to embrace him!

Shadow is the only one who didn't swim over because, all he can do is watch, solemnly. His ex-master have never shown him that kind of love.

The Spirit of the Stars, however is smiling because he also watched over the family too. He is relieved to see the King reunited with his children.

Also, next to the King are Shrakah, Keir, and the Six Maidens!

After embracing his children, Thor asked them. "Where have you all been? The entire kingdom of the sea was worried about you."

Link answered him. "We were keeping an eye on Hoshimi while she's visiting her love, the Prince of Hyrule."

"And after that. . ." Added Zelda. "We fought and defeated Ganondorf, alongside with the prince to save you. He's the one who helped you."

As his children gestured over to their younger sister and the Prince, Thor looked up ahead and saw the sight of the two. While looking closely, he can see that she is affectionate towards him, despite their differences in appearance. Now, he didn't know what to say or do. He never seen something like this before.

He looked at how Hoshimi wrapped her arms around her beloved prince and he thought about his suspicions towards him. He even thought about how much he despised Hylians throughout his years of being king. It's now becoming clear to him, that he must have mistaken all along and his own daughter has been trying to prove to him, the error of his ways. She is right and he was wrong. Now, that his sons and first daughter gave him out the fact that this Hylian Prince saved his life along with his youngest daughter, he will have to admit that he misjudged him.

King Thor sighed. Then, he turned to the Blue Maiden and asked. "She is really in love with him. Isn't she?"

She observed the two and replied. "Well, by the looks of it, I believe your daughter is trying to prove something to you, your majesty. If loving him forever is truly her happiness and it's what her heart tells her, then she shall follow it as long as she listens to it. It's always good to have your children decide for themselves and a forced decision from their elders won't do any good. It's like I told you before. If you were to ever be too strict with her, then you will definitely lose absolute control."

Thor shifted his eyebrow and asked her again. "You always said that from the very beginning until now?"

She only chuckled. "Well, you can't really hold on to her forever. You'll never know for when she has grown up, you'll soon have to let her go."

The questioned King looked over to his children and gave them his questioned look. After receiving their nods as their answer, he made another sigh. "Well. . . . If it's true, then I guess there's one more thing left to wonder about her."

"What is it, your majesty?" All Six Maidens asked him.

Thor looked over at them and gave them his answer slowly. "How much I'm going to miss the daughter I've raised so much."

Then, Hikaru chimed in. "I guess you have understood everything."

The King turned to see him and is also surprised to see him. "Hikaru?"

He nodded and asked him. "Do you really think it will be wise to shelter your daughter, fiercely for all these years?"

He lowered his head a bit and answered. "I've already realized what I've been doing. If I were to continue doing that, I'll never know what I had, until I lost it."

This made Hikaru smile and bowed. "Very well put, your majesty. And now, I'm going to help you too." He went over to the mermaid next to her prince and smiled at her. Then, he pulled out his own ocarina and played the melody of her family's lullaby.

Once that's done, a golden light descended from the heavens and Hoshimi looked up! Then, suddenly, three colored lights came down! Those lights are red, blue, and green! They appeared before Hoshimi and they revealed themselves in their true forms! When this happened, Hoshimi gasped! "Oh!" Standing before her are the Three Goddesses of Hyrule in person! They are wearing clothes that match the trademark colors of their hair! "Din! Naryu! And Farore!" She immediately bowed her head.

The King, Hoshimi's siblings, Hikaru, the Six Maidens, and the Mer-Sheikah brothers also bowed their heads. Even Shadow Link did the same.

Din spoke to Hoshimi. "Dear Princess of Hylia, Hoshimi. Your task of eliminating Ganondorf from his existence is successfully fulfilled. When we saw your struggle to retrieve your half of the first Triforce, we can see that you are even willing to give up your life to save your family and the one you loved. You are rightfully given the will to lead the two kingdoms with the correct power that is instructed for peace. Why, you will even do it with the magic knife you have in your possession."

While listening to her righteous words, Hoshimi pulled out the knife and stared at it as she held it in her hands. She never knew that it was her destiny to destroy Ganondorf for the Triforce of Power, until now .

Din continued. "In return for winning the battle against the traitor who committed a treacherous crime against us, we will grant you the happiness you've suffered so much for. The will to live with Prince Shining Link of Hyrule forever."

"But how?" She asked her. "I'm already back to being a Mer-Hylian again. I'm afraid there's no other option for going back to the joy I've experienced for a short while."

Naryu tilted the princess' chin up and smiled. "There _is_ another option and it's not just us who will bring that joy back to you." She turned over to her father, the King of Hylia, for she is referring to him.

Hoshimi looked over and saw him after she blinked.

Then, Naryu caused the water upon the beach to carry the Princess' family and friends over to meet her.

Hoshimi met up with her father and looked at him with unsure eyes.

Then, the King slowly asked her. "So, this is where you've been, Hoshimi?"

"Yes." She answered.

"And you let Ganondorf turn you into a Hylian, just to meet that boy?"

"Yes."

Then, he smiled. "But, goodness, am I so proud of you for eliminating that wizard and saving me."

Well, Hoshimi felt a little bit good to hear him saying that. But, she frowned and said to him. "Father, I'm so sorry for swimming off. I shouldn't have swam over to that warlock to have my wish granted. You see, after the grotto situation, I don't know who or where else to turn. Above all, I'm sorry for. . . ."

Before she can say anything else, her father laid his hand on her shoulder and told her. "No, no, no. Don't blame yourself, dear. I'm the one who should be sorry."

"What?" She looked up to him in surprise. "You are?"

"Yes." He nodded. "It wasn't fair for me to be so hard on you and making you feel that way. You see, to tell you the truth, I lied to you about the dangers between our world and this one, here. Your mother didn't pass on due to a natural accident. Here's what really happened. After when Ganondorf almost used you, a few years back then, he did act against me. But, before he can do anything to me, your mother stepped in and tried to strangle him by using her spirit power. She used a heaping amount of it, knowing that she'll perish in the process. But, it is the only way to give him a penalty for acting against me. You see, I warned her about that maneuver, for it was too dangerous. But, as she unleashed her power upon him, this is what she told me. She said there is no other way aside from it. After punishing that demon with a good injury on his shoulders, she made a brief good bye to me. As she disappeared into sea foam, she told me to look after you and your siblings. And, all that was left of her was the Pearl of Din, which she wore around her neck. That's what really happened to her, before I banished that dreadful wizard to the abyss."

He then lowered his head as he held her by the shoulder. "I have been a foolish father. After the mourning period for her, I made that ban. I did that because I was fearing that if you were to ever meet someone like him, the same thing might happen to you. Ever since she was gone, you have been my favorite daughter. You know, you look so much like her in her youth."

However, after being still for a short moment, Hoshimi just showed him a small smile. She said. "Yes. I knew it was a lie."

The King looked at his daughter skeptically. "You do?"

She nodded. "As you can see, I do know what happened to her. I even felt very sorry for her as much as you do. Father, I do miss her. . . very much." She is saying that she understands him, now. "What you said is the real thing. But, everything ended in the opposite way. Ganondorf did tried to take my life. However, with the magic knife I have in my hands, I really bring him to his knees." Then, she opened her hands and she softly commanded. "Din's Fire." A flame came out of her hands and it formed a red orange heart in front of him.

Thor stared at her magic.

Then, Din told him. "It's a sign, showing that you're forgiven."  
After this, although there are tears in his eyes, King Thor caressed her cheek once more. "You know? I believe I was having my own eyes shut so tightly, I didn't bear to notice how strong you have become."

Hoshimi smiled at her father warmly, before placing her hand on his. "Thanks, father."

Link, his siblings, the Mer-Sheikah brothers, and the Six Maidens all smiled for that heart warming moment. Even, Shadow is curious about it.

Din, Naryu, and Farore looked at each other and nodded to each other. Next, they turned to the King and he nodded at them too. Then, with their power and while Hoshimi is still sitting in the water of their small magic tide, they replaced her white tail with legs again! That way, she can stay as a Hylian forever!

Hoshimi looked below and when she saw her white knee length pants and her feet, she smiled gratefully at them! "Oh!"

"Hoshimi, my daughter, you have my permission to live with the Prince of Hyrule. And now, I'm going to be doing something for you, that I should have done all of these days ago." The King announced. Then, he called. "Shrakah, come over here, please."

The confidante of the Royal Mer-Hylian family appeared next to him.

Next, the King said to him. "Shrakah, I think we all know who rightfully deserves the Pearl of Din."

He smiled and pulled the red pendant out. "I couldn't agree more, your majesty!"

Then, Link called out! "Let's hear it for Hoshimi!"

With that, everyone cheered for her.

Seeing how everyone is so happy for her, Hoshimi wasn't sure if this is real or not. But, she can see that Shrakah is giving it to Thor, first.

She looked at it once more before asking her father. "Is. . . Is it really for me, father?"

He chuckled. Then he placed the pendant around her neck with a loving smile. "Only the best for my favorite daughter. . ."

She held it with her fingers and then, looked at how she looks on the water. She looked magnificent with it!

The King spoke once more. "It suits you, well."

Now, Hoshimi did not know what to say. "Oh! Oh. . . ! Thank you!"

"Come now." Naryu said to Hoshimi as she took her over to the Prince, who's still unconscious. Din, and Farore also walked over to him with them. Even Hikaru.

Hoshimi kneeled down and caressed his cheek again. She even held his hand in hers.

Din spoke to her. "It does look like he isn't recovering from his exhaustion yet. You do want him to be in perfect health again, right?"

Hoshimi looked up to her and her godly sisters. "I do."

Farore approached to her. "Well, thanks to your successful duty of delivering the two Kingdoms out of Ganondorf's wrathful grasp. . . ." She began to use her magic to create something. "We are willing to give you this." When she's done, her hands showed Hoshimi a wonderfully gorgeous platinum white flower, dusted with glitter on its petals. In the middle of its pollen, there's a small pool of shining liquid.

"Oh!" Everyone was amazed. Including, Hoshimi.

The Goddess of Courage told the princess. "This, Hoshimi, is the Friendship Lily. It holds an infinite amount of life energy to the weary." Then, she gave it to her. "Here, give its nectar to your prince."

Now, as she held the flower in her hands, she took a sip of the nectar and held it in her mouth. Then, she brought the Shining Link's face up to hers. She placed her lips upon his and let the nectar flow into his mouth, so that he'll swallow it into his throat.

After pulling her face away, she can see that his eyelids were trembling at first.

Then Shining Link groaned softly as he slowly woke up. His fatigue is gone and he's back to perfect health when he sat up by the aid of Hoshimi's arm. "Oh. . . ."

Happy and relieved that he's all right, Hoshimi smiled as her eyes began to fill with a bit of tears of joy. "Oh! Thank goodness, it worked! You're okay!"

Shining Link looked at her. "Oh, Hoshimi. You. . . You saved me again. . ."

She smiled at him. "Actually, we saved each other."

He chuckled as he stood up with her. He even noticed her new form. "You're. . . You're a Hylian again."

"Yes, yes. Thank you so much for defeating Ganondorf and saving my father with me and my siblings." She said while hugging him.

"And thank you for bringing me back to my consciousness." He replied as he hugged her back.

While watching the two embracing, Shadow took a small look at first. Then, he turned his saddened gaze away.

After the hug, she told her prince. "Well, you should thank the Goddesses, too. They're the ones who helped me revive you and brought their aid to our battle by summoning Hikaru."

Shining Link saw them and kneeled down to bow his head. "Din, Naryu, and Farore. I do not know how are we going to repay you for coming onto us in our time of need."

Din replied. "There is no charge for your wonderful deed of saving Hyrule and Hylia from peril, thanks to your strong love and courage for one another. But, we will be watching your union from afar." She and the other two goddesses are now getting ready to depart for the heavens.

Hikaru walked over to them, for he is going to leave too. His job is done for now. Before he reunites with the goddesses, he looked back toward Hoshimi and her Prince, and said. "Prince of Hyrule, I will also congratulate you and the Princess of Hylia for bringing Ganondorf to his downfall. However, in return, you must take good care of each other." Then, he bowed and continued to make his way to the goddesses.

"Thank you, Hikaru: The Spirit of the Stars." Hoshimi said to him.

As the light extended from the clouds for them to depart, Din smiled and spoke once more. "Good bye, Shining Link, Hoshimi, Shadow, and Ruling Family of Hylia! Fare thee well!" With that, she, Naryu, Farore, and Hikaru made their way back to their home in the clouds.

Then, Hoshimi called out. "Bid thee farewell too, Goddesses of Hyrule! And thank you!"

"Hoshimi." Link called out to her.

She went over to him. "Yes, brother Link?"

"You know what?" He began saying. "You really came a long way. Great work."

"Yeah." She nodded.

With that, Link began to applaud with his hands. Then it was followed by his brothers, his sister, the maidens, the Mer-Sheikah, and the King. Even the two fairies were clapping too.

Hoshimi didn't know what is happening until she turned around to hear Shining Link clapping for her too.

Shadow didn't know what to do at first. But he decided to join in.

Hoshimi cannot believe this. This applause meant one thing. Everything she had done is actually the right thing. It was all a mission to eliminate the wicked wizard from this world.

Just when Hoshimi is about to have a bit of delight in herself, Shining Link came to her and took her hand. When she turned to meet him, eye to eye, he wrapped his arms around her to embrace her.

She did the same for she has never been this happy.

After clapping, Snow turned to Navi. "You know what? I think we are going to be celebrating a wedding that no one has ever seen before!"

"I agree!" Replied the blue fairy!

Then, they both cheered. "Yay!"

Later on, in the early afternoon, it has been done! On the same royal wedding ship from the day before, two crowns were placed upon the heads of the newlywed couple! Prince Shining Link and Princess Hoshimi are finally married!

After the crowning of the two lovers, King Phoebus called out to the guests. "My people! The Three Heavenly Goddesses are now smiling down upon the couple you are now witnessing! Both: the Kingdom of Hyrule and the Kingdom of the Great Sea, Hylia will unite peacefully on this day! Thanks to the bravery and courage that has been displayed by my son and the daughter of our new friend!"

Everyone on board are cheering happily for this announcement!

Then, the king made his final announcement. "And now, it's time for the celebration to begin!"

With that said, everyone cheered and applaud greatly as the couple walked down from the altar.

Among this celebration, King Phoebus and Queen Raina looked at each other with a smile, and nodded. Why, even Sheik, Liliana, and Erune were happy too. Snow, who is with Erune, looked at the happy couple for a second, then she started to cry with joy! Of course, even Julius, the Cuckoo farmer is invited to the party with one of his birds.

When the happy news was spread throughout Hyrule, everyone in Castle Town began celebrating at their own festival. So did the Gorons in their city among Death Mountain, the tribes in the Hylian Forests, and the villagers and Sheikah tribe in the Kakiriko Village!

Well, they aren't the only ones who are celebrating this marriage. There's also the Zoras and the Mer-Hylian Kingdom who are getting a really good glimpse of Hoshimi and Shining Link from below the ship. There are even platforms among the sides of the ship so that the Hylian people can communicate with them.

That's because, before the wedding, King Thor and King Phoebus signed a treaty of peace and unity. Thus, erasing the ban from Hylia. Thor's kingdom would also be under the protection of the Hylian kingdom if they were ever in danger.

Hoshimi looked down at her people from on the deck of the ship. She is smiling brightly for she can see her family down there.

Link and Zelda are waving at her from below.

"We'll be thinking about you, Hoshimi!" Her sister called out.

"Take great care of yourself, younger sister!" Said the first prince, also.

"I will, Link! You and Zelda can count on me! I'll surely visit you whenever I can!" She answered them.

Blue also called out. "I'm wishing you two love birds a happy life, together!"

Shining Link raised his eyebrow. "Love Birds?"

Hoshimi chuckled. "Oh, forgive him. He's sometimes like that." She told him before answering her third brother. "You should know that I always love you, Blue!"

Then, she looked out and saw the Six Maidens, Shrakah, and Keir waving too her. "We'll see you soon, Hoshimi!" They said in unison.

"I'm going to miss all of you, so much!" While waving back at them, she saw that they have their own fairies too, along with Navi. As they all flew up to meet her, she said. "Well, now! If it isn't, Emerald, Ruby, Amethyst, and. . . Uh. . . Who are you. . . ? Oh! Yes! Topaz! You all came!"

Topaz, the Yellow Maiden's fairy replied. "We heard news from Navi, so we came to join the party!"

"Thank you all for coming!" She said before they fly back to their mistresses.

"Congratulations, Hoshimi!" They all said.

Shining Link shrugged. "You have a lot of people in your family."

She turned and answered. "Well, they're fairies of my family nursemaids."

"Hoshimi!" When she heard her name called again. She looked out and she knows whose voice it is. It's Vio's.

He said to her. "I'm just wanting to let you know this! Even if you're away from us, we'll always be there for you!"

"I'll appreciate that! Thank you, Vio! And take care!" She answered. She really loved her family.

After Red waved a bit before turning to ask the Red Maiden. "Excuse me, Red Maiden? Can you give me a hand, so that I can really say good bye to Hoshimi?"

She nodded. Then, she took the young prince in her arms and used her magic to make the water take her and him up to the rail of the deck. Just at the right height for him to see her. "There you go."

Hoshimi smiled and gave Red a kiss on the cheek.

While smiling warmly and having a small urge to cry, he asked his dear sister. "Good bye, Hoshimi. . . . . Am I still your brother?"

She chuckled and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Always, Red. You'll always be my brother while I'll always be your sister."

After giving her a quick hug, Red said to the maiden, who took him back to the water. "Thank you, Red Maiden!"

"You're welcome, Prince Red." She answered.

He turned to Vio and asked. "I'm sure going to miss Hoshimi. Aren't you, Vio?"

His brother just smiled at him. "I'm absolutely positive, Red. I am going to miss her."

"We all are." Answered Link too.

Shadow was watching everything from afar. He may not mingle in any how. Perhaps it's best to leave it at that. Before he can turn around, he said softly as he looked at the happy princess. "Congratulations, Hoshimi. You're going to be one lovely queen."

As he was about to go away, he was drawn over to the rail by Hoshimi's Naryu's Love with the water. He was surprised about this as he met up with Hoshimi.

While having her Naryu's Love active, she smiled at him. "It looks like you have nowhere else to go."

He sighed. "Well, that wizard did betray me. I suppose I might not be able to fit in among your people. I am a monster, you know."

"No, you're not." She shook her head. "You're are always welcomed to be a friend of us."

He looked up at her with uncertain eyes. "You really think so? Even though you're not interested in me?"

"I am interested. . . . Only as a friend." She answered. "You're no shadow, Shadow Link. You are a being of a good heart and a strong spirit. When you helped me out in that battle, I always know there is some good in you. So, would you like to be a . . ."

"Hoshimi!" Blue said out loud, interrupting her. He is watching this along with everyone else.

"Don't start on that, please!" She said to him, sternly. Then she looked back at the shadowy Link. "As I was saying. Shadow Link? Would you like to be part of the family of Hylia?"

Shadow blinked. He didn't know what to say. Then, he gave out his answer. "Well. . . . I guess, it wouldn't hurt. . . But, are you sure it's all right?"

Hoshimi just hugged him. "It is all right. You did well back there. I don't want you to be lost. I only want you to be a friend to us, now. You're just like my brothers too, you know. I may not be the one for you. But, I'll love you as another brother."

Shadow blinked at what she was doing. He's been in love with her. But, she is loving him as a brother? Maybe it would be enough for him to afford. He took a small look at Shining Link who is giving him a calm look in the eyes. Then, he asked her. "You really want me as another one of your brothers?"

"Yes." She answered, softly.

"And you really loved your prince as much as he loves you?" He asked again.

"Yes. . ."

After she let go of him, she noticed that her father is coming up to her from the water with his magic. She asked him. "So, do you think it will be all right for him to be a part of our family? Now that he's not with a wizard anymore?"

He answered proudly with a smile. "I think it's a wonderful idea." He turned to the purple haired boy and said. "Shadow Link, you are now welcomed to us, as Prince Shadow of Hylia."

When that's said, all of the Mer-Hylian people cheered.

Shadow could scarcely believe his eyes. At first, they all despised him. But now, it's all changed, thanks to Hoshimi. He turned back to her and said. "I am happy for what you have done for me. But, you will have to let Shining Link take great care of you."

"I will." She said before placing her hand on his cheek. "And, thank you. You do have a tender heart." Then, she placed a small kiss on his forehead.

Now, Shadow has never felt so happy in all of his life as he was brought down to the sea. It is a kiss on the forehead. But, it's all he needs for now. He now knows that Hoshimi can trust him. Then, he notices that Link, Vio, Red, Blue, Zelda, the two Mer-Sheikah, and the maidens are gathering around him.

"Welcome to the family!" Link announced proudly.

Then Blue began to say. "If you were to do anything that is brash against us, I'll be holding you, personally responsible!"

"Blue?" Hoshimi called to him from above. Thus, giving him another stern look while placing her hands on her hips. "Remember what I just said!"

Well, this made him relax a bit. "Oh. . . . Okay. . ."

Thor chuckled at that. Then he turned his gaze back to Hoshimi. He caressed her cheek once more and said. "Good-bye, Hoshimi. I'm certainly going to miss you. Most of all, I am proud of seeing my youngest daughter becoming a strong willed young lady."

Gratefully touched by his soft words, Hoshimi wrapped her arms around him as he did the same. "I love you, father. . ." She said to him lovingly.

After letting go of his daughter, Thor also noticed Shining Link bowing to him, respectfully. He nodded at him, gave his daughter a pat on her shoulder, and went back to the water with his magic.

Hoshimi finally blew a farewell kiss to all of her family.

Shining Link came up to her and held her arm. Then he waved to all of the Mer-Hylian people with her.

Finally, with the wave of his trident, Thor created a stream of stardust and let it make a giant picture of the Triforce in the sky. Everyone clapped and cheered for it!

As the wedding ship began to sail off, most of the civilians of Hylia are heading back home under the sea.

Thor, the Maidens, the Mer-Sheikah Brothers, and the Royal Children however stayed up the surface to watch the boat sail off. They are going to miss their favorite family member. The one who they adore so much. The one who rid Hylia and Hyrule of Ganondorf with her prince.

And yes, Hoshimi and Shining Link looked at each other with loving eyes for a while. Then, the two shared a tender, loving kiss for they are finally together. . . at last!

The End

* * *

Link: This. . . This is very touching!

Red: (Sniff) It's almost like a fairy tale! Oh, I don't want it to end! Can we go back to chapter one and do it all over again, Kaoru?

M.S.K: (Shrugs and puts her hand on his head) Oh. . . I'm sorry, Red. You see, all stories do need to have an ending, you know.

Red: Mou. . . (Then, jumps up to hug the authoress) But, it's so much fun! We enjoyed being with you.

Link: So did I.

Zelda: Me too.

Blue: And here.

Vio: We are happy to be with you for the story.

Shadow: Yeah, you did good.

M.S.K: So did you guys along with my OC. So, thank you.

Navi: You too! Thank you so much for having us perform in your sweet story!

Everyone: Yes! Thank you very much!

M.S.K: Anytime, everyone! And for you guys out there, feel free to leave a review or a comment about this tale. Oh and I'll be writing another fanfic soon. Be sure to check it out, for there's a poll for you and I'll be waiting for your suggestions on what I'll do next. Until then, I do hope that you enjoyed this story. Have fun, and I'll see you next time! :D Sayonara!


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